I  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  | 


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STANDARD   WORKS 

ADAPTED 

to  tlje  use  of  tj)c 
PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCI' 

IN   THE 

UNITED      STATES. 


GIBSON'S    THREE    PASTORAL    LETTERS. 
HORNE'S  LETTERS  ON   INFIDELITY,  AND  TO  ADAM  SMITH 


WITH 

PRfiFACES,    BIOGRAPHICAL   MEMOIR' 

AND   NOTES. 


BY    W.    R.    WHITTINGHAM,    A.M. 


NEW-YORK : 

PUBLISHED    BY    THE    NEW-YORK    PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL    PRESS, 

At  Ihcir  Buildings,  No.  46  Lumber-street,  in 
rear  of  Trinity  Ciiurch. 

1831. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1831,  by  John  V.  Van  Ingen, 
(Hi?  Agent  of  the  New- York  Protcsiant  Episcojial  Tress,)  in  tlic  o/lice  of  the  Clerk 
'  il'  the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


THREE  PASTORAL  LETTERS 


PEOPLE  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF  LONDON : 


PARTICULARLY 


TO  THOSE  OF  THE  TWO  GREAT  CITIES  OP  LONDON  AND  WESTMINSTIR. 


BISHOP  OP  LONDON, 


PREFACE. 


A  COLLECTION  of  treatises  expressly  designed,  and 
with  consummate  skill  adapted,  for  popular  instruction, 
needs  little  to  be  said  by  way  of  introduction.  As  much 
as  is  known  to  the  editor  of  the  history  of  Bishop 
Gibson's  Pastoral  Letters  is  stated  in  the  Memoir  of 
the  writer's  life — with  the  exception]of  the  fact  that  the 
first  two  were  answered  by  Tindal,  in  1730,*  and  de- 
fended in  an  anonymous  publication  of  the  same  year.^ 
Neither  of  these  productions,  nor  a  third,  in  which  the 
second  letter  alone  is  defended,  (whether  from  the  same, 
or  some  other  attack,  is  not  stated,")  have  been  seen  by 
the  editor. 

The  three  letters,  though  published  separately,  and 
at  intervals  of  some  months,  are  evidently  parts  of  one 
design,  and  may  be  considered  as  forming  an  entire  and 
connected  work.  There  is  neither  anticipation  nor 
repetition,  further  than  is  necessary  for  the  connexion 
of  the  parts  ;  the  development  of  the  author's  plan  is 
gradual  and  consistent.  Yet  each  division  of  the  entire 
work  has  its  independent  basis,  and  is  sufficient  of  itself 
to  carry  conviction  to  a  reasonable  inquirer. 

The  First  Letter  contains  a  luminous  view  of  the 
evidences  of  Christianity,  condensed  into  the  smallest 


a  Two  Addresses  to  the  People  of  the  Diocese  of  London,  in  rela- 
tion to  Bishop  Gibson's  Pastoral  Letter.   8vo.  London.  1730. 

b  Two  Vindications  of  Bishop  Gibson's  Pastoral  Letters,  in  reply 
to  Dr.  Tindal.  8vo.  London.   1730. 

c  A  Letter  to  Dr.  Chandler,  in  vindication  of  Dr.  Gibson's  Second 
Pastoral  Letter.    By  Thomas  Jackson.    8vo.  Cambridge,  1734. 


4  PREFACE. 

possible  compass,  and  particularly  excellent  in  its  state- 
ment of  the  real  value  of  the  miracles  of  Christ  as  evi- 
dence, and  in  its  representation  of  the  mutual  bearings 
of  the  several  branches  of  proof.  The  admirable  direc- 
tions for  the  examination  of  Christianity  in  a  proper 
spirit,  with  which  this  view  of  its  evidence  is  ushered  in, 
and  the  concluding  suggestions  as  to  the  observation  of 
due  reverence  for  things  sacred,  tend  greatly  to  enhance 
its  value,  and  proportionably  increase  its  effect. 

The  Second  Letter,  calmly,  but  with  irresistible  force 
of  argument,  sets  aside  the  arrogant  pretensions  of  un- 
believers in  behalf  of  human  reason,  and  assigns  its 
proper  sphere.  As  regards  the  insufficiency  of  human 
systems  of  religion,  it  gives  a  brief  but  complete  sum- 
mary of  the  historical  evidence  on  the  subject.  Under 
the  sixth  head  a  full  and  most  valuable  summary  of  the 
distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  is  drawn  up, 
principally  in  the  very  words  of  Scripture,  with  remark- 
able clearness  and  precision.  The  concluding  observa- 
tions on  the  sin  of  unbelief,  and  the  still  greater  criminal- 
ity and  folly  of  attempts  to  propagate  its  negative  princi- 
ples, are  such  as  must  command  the  attention,  and  one 
would  suppose  the  assent,  of  every  thinking  being. 

The  Third  Letter  treats  of  a  subject,  on  which,  even 
at  the  present  day,  there  is  far  too  much  ignorance  and 
vagueness  of  opinion, — the  relative  importance,  and 
respective  claims  to  divine  authority,  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  New  Testament.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
point  out  a  treatise  in  which  so  much  valuable  informa- 
tion on  these  points  is  given  in  as  plain  a  form,  aod  as 
narrow  a  compass. 

In  the  course  of  all  three  letters,  the  objections  of 
infidels,  both  a  priori  against  all  revelation,  and  espe- 
cially against  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  freely 
and  fairly  given,  and  most  effectually  met.     The  reader 


PREFACE.  5 

Will  find  that  scarce  one  among  the  many  which  modern 
hostility  to  the  truth  of  God  has  tricked  up  in  the  para- 
pharnalia  of  novelty,  and  brought  forward  with  all  the 
pomp  of  anticipated  victory,  is  unnoticed  or  unanswered 
in  Gibsons's  writings,  now  more  than  a  century  old. 

One  peculiarity  in  the  Pastoral  Letters  perhaps  needs 
a  word  of  explanation.  The  authority  of  the  cele- 
brated Locke  is  appealed  to  with  a  frequency,  and  a 
degree  of  deference,  which  may  seem  rather  incongru- 
ous in  a  work  explicitly  advocating  the  claims  of  God's 
word  against  the  pretensions  of  all  human  wisdom  and 
authority.  It  is  not  improbably  owing  to  the  use  thus 
made  of  that  great  philosopher  and  (we  may  add  it — 
as  most  assuredly  he  would,  now — with  pride)  humble 
Christian,  that  he  is  no  longer  claimed  as  a  leader  by 
the  self-styled  advocates  of  reason.  But  in  Bishop 
Gibson's  day,  the  case  was  otherwise.  Toland,  infe- 
rior to  none  in  hostility  to  Christianity,  was  an  acquaint- 
ance, and  claimed  (but  falsely)  to  be  a  friend  and  inti- 
mate, of  Locke.  Collins  and  Tindal  omitted  no 
opportunity  of  wresting  the  authority  of  his  great 
name  to  the  sanction  of  their  attempts  to  enthrone 
human  reason  on  the  ruins  of  revelation.  The  whole 
tribe  of  underlings  in  the  work  promptly  caught  their 
cue,  and  nothing  was  more  rife  in  their  productions 
than  the  praise  of  that  '  great  genius'  who  had  '  deve- 
loped the  way  to  the  disenthralment  of  the  intellect  of 
mankind  from  the  chains  of  bigotry  and  superstition.' 
Such  extracts  as  those  abundantly  given  by  Gibson 
were  necessary  to  disabuse  the  public,  and  allowing 
Locke  all  the  reputation  which  he  deserved  as  the  first 
thorough  student  of  the  mental  powers  and  capacities 
of  man,  to  assert  the  rightful  claim  of  Christianity  to 
the  service  of  that  reputation  in  its  cause.  Infidelity 
has  now  shifted  its  ground,  and  we  look  back  with 
1* 


6  PREFACE. 

wonder,  almost  amounting  to  unbelief,  upon  the  attempt 
to  enlist  for  it  the  advocacy  of  Locke,  or  Locke's 
principles.  The  time  will  come, — may  we  not  reason- 
ably hope,  shortly  ? — when  equal  contempt  will  be 
awarded  those  who  now  attempt  to  juggle  into  credit 
their  crude  systems  of  materialism  and  pantheism, 
which  Bacon  and  Newton  would  have  despised  and 
abhorred,  under  the  stolen  mask  of  Inductive  Philo- 
sophy. 

It  may  be  not  amiss  to  mention,  as  evidence  of  the 
estimation  in  which  these  Pastoral  Letters  have  been 
held,  that  they  are  among  the  publications  of  the  vene- 
rable Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge— a 
circumstance  of  itself  enough  to  rank  them  among  the 
standards  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  that  not- 
withstanding the  extensive  circulation  thus  given  them, 
the  late  Bishop  Randolph  deemed  them  of  sufficient 
importance  to  be  included  in  his  choice  selection  of 
tracts  entitled  Enchiridion  Theologicum,  designed  for 
the  use  of  students  of  divinity. 

The  same  reasons  which  render  further  preface  unne- 
cessary, have  prevented  the  addition  of  many  notes. 
A  few  appropriate  extracts  from  works  not  generally 
accessible,  confirmatory  of  Bishop  Gibson's  statements, 
or  illustrative  of  his  reasonings,  and  a  few  references  to 
popular  books  for  fuller  information,  have  been  given  ; 
and  little  beside.  Care  has  been  taken  to  have  the 
numerous  references  to  Scripture  accurate  ;  and  a  few 
corrections,  in  this  respect,  have  been  made. 


MEMOIR. 


Bishop  Gibson  is  advantageously  known  in  each  of 
three  characters  seldom  combined  in  a  single  individual 
— the  antiquarian.,  the  controversialist,  and  the  prac- 
tical theologian.  To  these  we  might  even  add,  if  the 
distinction  did  not  savor  too  much  of  subdivision,  a 
fourth — the  ecclesiastical  jurist.  In  each  of  these 
widely  differing  branches  of  study  this  learned  and 
industrious  writer  attained  not  only  distinction,  but 
eminence ;  in  each  he  has  left  works  which,  if  since 
surpassed,  were  in  his  time  the  best  that  had  yet  ap- 
peared. 

Edmund  Gibson  was  born  at  Bampton,  in  the  county 
of  Westmoreland,  in  1669.  From  the  free  school  in 
his  native  town,  he  was  sent,  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
to  Queen's  College,  Oxford,  where  he  wa;3  admitted  to 
a  scholarship.  There  he  formed  intimacit's,  and  entered 
on  a  course  of  studies,  which  ended  only  with  his  life. 
The  learned  Dr.  HiCKEs,equally  celebrated  for  his  non- 
juring  principles,  and  for  his  extensive  researches  into 
the  ancient  languages  of  northern  Europe,  Dr.  Nicol- 
son,  afterward  bishop  of  Carlisle,  author  of  the  English 
and  Scottish  Historical  Libraries,  with  several  others 
of  inferior  note  and  learning,  had  at  that  time  awakened 
a  considerable  degree  of  interest  in  the  University  of 
Oxford,  and  more  especially  in  Queen's  College,  on 
the  subject  of  the  northern  languages  and  antiquities. 
Young  Gibson,  among  others,  entered  upon  it  with 
ardor,  and  even  when  his  professional  duties  had  given 
other  studies  a  claim  upon  his  undivided  hours  of  serious 
occupation,  these  still  formed  his  favorite  recreation,  to 
which  he  would  recur  with  avidity  and  innocent  delight. 
The  publication  of  two  humorous  productions  of  Scot- 
tish poets  in  the  Latin  language,  illustrated  with  remarks 
in  the  same  language  and  of  the  same  character,^  was 

*  Drummondi  Polemo-Middiana,  et  Jacobi  V.,  Regis  Scotiae,  Can- 
tilena  Rustica.  Notis,  &c.    Oxon.  1691,  4to, 


8  MEMOIR. 

the  first-fruits  of  these  studies,  and  his  first  appearance 
before  the  public  as  an  author.  The  next  year,  he  gave 
more  substantial  evidence  of  his  acquirements,  in  the 
publication  of  a  Saxon  Chronicle,  with  a  Latin  transla- 
tion and  notes  ;^ — a  work  undertaken  at  the  suggestion 
of  Dr.  Mill,  the  editor  of  the  celebrated  edition  of  the 
New  Testament  in  Greek.  A  more  varied  learning  was 
manifested  in  another  work,  published  in  the  close  of 
the  same  year,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Tenison,  then 
bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  afterward  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury ;  in  which  was  given  a  descriptive  catalogue  of 
the  valuable  collection  of  manuscripts  belonging  to  that 
learned  prelate,  and  of  those  in  the  Dugdalian  Library 
at  Oxford.  The  connexion  thus  formed  between  the 
young  scholar  and  one  of  the  ablest,  as  well  as  the  best, 
of  the  episcopal  bench  of  that  age,  was  no  doubt 
advantageous  to  him  in  every  way,  and  probably  a 
principal  assistance  in  his  rise  to  the  high  station  which 
he  ultimately  attained. 

New  editions  of  Quintilian,  and  of  two  antiquarian 
tracts  by  Somner,  were  the  public  fruits  of  Gibson's 
labors  in  thr  ^"ext  two  years.  In  1694,  he  commenced 
A.  M.,  and  n6i  long  after  received  holy  orders.  The 
publication  of  an  English  translation  of  Camden's  Bri- 
tannia, with  considerable  additions,  in  folio,  in  1695, 
attests  the  continuance  of  his  antiquarian  studies, 
although  his  health  was  at  the  time  so  feeble  as  to 
prevent  his  acceptance  of  a  valuable  living,  offered  by 
Lord  Somcrs. 

An  appointment  to  the  charge  of  the  archiepiscopal 
library  at  Lambeth,  in  1696,  by  Dr.  Tenison,  then  pro- 
moted to  that  see,  was  at  once  the  reward  of  Gibson's 
former  literary  services,  and  an  incitement  to  fresh 
diligence  in  similar  pursuits.  Accordingly,  in  1697,  he 
pubUshed  a  Latin  catalogue  of  the  Manuscripts  in  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  with  a  Life  of  Sir  Thomas  Bodley,  and 
a  History  of  the  Bodleian  Library,  in  the  same  language, 
prefixed,  in  two  folio  volumes  ;  and  in  1698,  superin- 
tended an  edition  of  the  remains  of  Sir  Henry  Spel- 


»>  Chronicon  Saxonicum,  seu  Annales  Rerum  in  Anglia  prcecipue 
gestarum  a  Christo  nato  ad  annum  usque  MCLIV  dcdudi,  &c, 
Oxon.  4to.  1G92. 


MEMOIR,  9 

MAN,  relating  to  the  Laws  and  Antiquities  of  England, 
to  which  he  prefixed  a  life  of  the  author. 

From  this  period  his  studies  assumed  a  more  profes- 
sional cast,  and  his  advancement  in  the  Church  com- 
menced. He  was  made  morning  preacher  at  Lambeth 
in  1697;  domestic  chaplain  to  archbishop  Tenison,  and 
Lecturer  at  St.  Martin's  in  the  Fields,  in  1698;  and 
Rector  of  Stisted,  in  Essex,  in  1700.  A  dispute  having 
arisen  about  this  time  between  the  Lower  House  of  the 
Convocation  and  the  archbishop,  respecting  his  claims 
to  a  certain  extent  of  jurisdiction  and  control  in  its 
proceedings,  Gibson  engaged  warmly  in  his  patron's 
defence,  and  no  less  than  eleven  pamphlets,  in  quarto 
and  octavo,  published  in  the  years  1700-1703,  were 
the  evidences  of  his  learning  and  zeal.  The  contro- 
versy, though  petty,  involved  much  feeling,  and  was 
merely  the  entering  wedge  of  more  serious  contentions  : 
it  was  therefore  contested  with  much  warmth,  and  no 
small  ability,  on  either  side,  and  afforded  ample  oppor- 
tunity for  the  display  of  Gibson's  antiquarian  lore.  His 
diligence  and  learning  were  rewarded  with  the  degree 
of  D.  D.,  conferred  on  him  by  the  archbishop  in  1702 ; 
with  the  Rectory  of  Lambeth,  to  which  he  was  pre- 
sented in  the  following  year ;  and  with  several  minor 
preferments,  following  in  quick  succession. 

But  Gibson's  share  in  this  controversy  was  even 
more  serviceable  to  his  interests,  by  turning  his  atten- 
tion to  the  subject  of  one  of  his  great  works,  on  which 
his  durable  reputation  is  built.  The  researches  into 
which  his  examination  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a 
convocation  led,  were  undoubtedly  of  no  small  service 
in  the  compilation  of  his  '  Code  of  Ecclesiastical  Law' 
which  appeared  in  two  folio  volumes,  in  1713,  and  has 
ever  since  occupied  the  rank  of  a  standard  in  the  Eng- 
lish Church.  The  high  views  of  spiritual  authority 
which  pervade  this  work  called  forth  numerous  animad- 
versions, and  have  rendered  it  unpopular  with  all  the 
advocates  of  latitudinarian  principles  ;  but  none  have 
denied  its  author  the  praise  of  consummate  diligence 
and  erudition.  Its  utility  is,  of  course,  principally 
limited  to  the  church  establishment  of  which  it  imbo- 
dies  the  regulations  ;  but  the  student  will  hardly  ever 
consult  it  for  information  relative  to  the  general  princi- 


10  MEMOIR. 

pies  and  ancient  practice  of  church  polity  and  govern- 
ment, without  satisfaction,  and  never  without  admira- 
tion of  its  method  and  deep  research. 

While  engaged  in  the  composition  of  this  work,  Dr. 
Gibson  had  been  preferred  to  the  archdeaconry  of  Surry, 
in  1710;  and  in  the  discharge  of  its  duties,  distinguished 
himself  by  unusual  diligence.  The  death  of  his  patron, 
in  1715,  was  so  far  from  putting  a  stop  to  his  advance- 
ment, that  it  opened  the  way  for  him  to  a  bishopric ; 
the  see  of  Lincoln,  vacated  by  Dr.  Wake's  translation 
to  the  archbishopric,  being  bestowed  on  him  at  the 
recommendation  of  the  new  primate.  His  consecra- 
tion took  place  in  the  beginning  of  the  following  year. 
In  1721,  he  was  appointed  Dean  of  the  Royal  Chapel ; 
and  in  1723,  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Robinson,  trans- 
lated to  the  see  of  London. 

This  was  the  summit  of  Bishop  Gibson's  elevation. 
Although  for  a  time  his  business-talents,  diligence,  and 
integrity  secured  to  him  the  confidence  of  the  ministry, 
and  archbishop  Wake,  when  the  infirmities  of  age  pre- 
vented the  full  discharge  of  his  ofliicial  duties,  com- 
mitted ecclesiastical  aflfairs  almost  entirely  to  his  man- 
agement, so  that  he  was  generally  regarded  as  the  pro- 
bable successor  to  the  highest  dignity  in  the  Church  ; 
yet  his  standing  with  government  was  changed  before 
the  death  of  the  archbishop,  and  his  prospect  of  suc- 
cession blasted. 

The  cause  of  this  change  was  as  honorable  to  Bishop 
Gibson,  as  the  use  which  he  made  of  power  while 
in  his  possession.  Almost  his  first  act,  upon  his  suc- 
cession to  the  see  of  London,  was  a  strenuous  effort 
for  the  suppression  of  masquerades,  then  just  coming 
into  fashion,  and  productive  of  great  disorders.  He 
preached  and  published  an  eloquent  sermon  on  the 
occasion,  and  secured  the  co-operation  of  his  brother 
bishops  in  an  address  to  the  throne,  with  such  success 
that  an  order  in  council  was  passed  for  the  prohibition 
of  that  dangerous  species  of  amusement.  By  this,  he 
incurred  the  personal  enmity  of  the  king,  George  II, 
who  was  much  addicted  to  them. 

Still,  his  talents  and  activity  secured  his  influence 
ivith  the  ministry,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Whitehall 


MEMOIR.  11 

preachers,'  in  the  very  next  month  (February,  1724) 
gave  evidence  of  its  extent;  but  this  also  he  lost  by 
firm  adherence  to  principle,  in  his  opposition  to  the 
efforts  made  for  the  removal  of  the  political  disabilities 
of  the  dissenters — efforts  which  at  that  time  it  was  the 
policy  of  the  government  to  encourage,  as  a  mean  of 
securing  the  affections  of  the  dissenting  interest  to  the 
house  of  Hanover  ;  and  by  a  firm  and  successful  resist- 
ance of  an  attempt  to  promote  to  a  bishopric  one  Dr. 
Rundle,  a  man  suspected  of  deistical  opinions.'^ 

In  the  meanwhile,  though  much  engaged  in  those 
legislative  and  judicial  occupations  which  form  part  of 
the  duties  of  an  English  bishop,  Dr.  Gibson  did  not 
neglect  the  higher  obligations  attendant  on  his  spiritual 
ofiice.  While  yet  a  parish  clergyman,  he  had  proved 
his  interest  in  the  duties  of  that  station,  and  his  qualifi- 
cations for  their  discharge,  by  publishing  a  tract  entitled 
The  Holy  Sacrament  Explained^  and  another.  On 
Family  Devotion  ;  or  a  Plain  Exhortation  to  Morning 
and  Evening  Prayer  in  Families  ;  both  issued  in  1705, 
and  anonymously.  Each  of  these  brief,  and  exceedingly 
plain  treatises,  has  gone  through  numerous  editions, 
among  the  tracts  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge  ;  and  it  is  from  the  last  named  that  the 
forms  of  Family  Devotion  printed  Avith  our  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  were  taken. 

His  promotion  to  the  archdeaconry  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  another  branch  of  clerical  duty  ;  and  in  this  also 
the  results  of  his  own  reflections  and  experience  were 
communicated  to  others  by  the  publication  of  his  Essay 
on  Visitations,  Parochial  and  General,  printed  to- 
gether with  a  Visitation  Sermon  and  some  other  Tracts, 
in  1717,  after  his  preferment  to  a  bishopric. 


c  Twelve  fellows  of  colleges  from  each  of  the  universities,  appointed 
by  their  respective  universities,  to  preach  in  monthly  rotation,  two  in 
each  month,  in  the  King's  Chapel  at  Whitehall.  A  small  j'early 
stipend  is  paid  to  each.     The  regulation  still  continues. 

d  Bishop  Gibson's  vote  on  the  bill  to  relieve  the  Gtuakers  from  tithes, 
to  which  AiKix,  in  the  General  Biography,  aXtTibvites  his  preterition  in. 
the  supply  of  the  vacant  see  of  Canterbury  at  the  death  of  Wake,  dicl 
not  take  place  until  1736,  a  year  after  that  event,  and  must  therefore 
1)6  set  out  of  the  question.  The  Bishop's  steady  opposition  to  the 
dissenting  interest  is,  of  itself,  a  sufficient  explanation  of  Ms  loss  of 
favor. 


12  MEMOIR. 

Several  occasional  sermons,  and  a  tract  pertaining  to 
his  old  and  favorite  line  of  study,  ecclesiastical  antiqui- 
ties, were  all  that  Bishop  Gibson  published  in  the 
interval  between  the  date  of  his  Essay  on  Visitations, 
and  that  of  the  First  Pastoral  Letter.  This  able  pro- 
duction, so  strictly  accordant  with  the  episcopal  office 
and  duties,  appeared  in  1727.  It  was  printed  in  a  cheap 
form,  and  a  very  large  edition  was  struck  off,  with  the 
view  of  rendering  its  circulation  as  general  and  exten- 
sive as  possible.  But  the  demand  exceeded  all  expecta- 
tion, and  the  speedy  call  for  a  second  and  still  larger 
edition  furnished  the  best  encouragement  to  the  bene- 
volent author  to  proceed  in  his  undertaking.  It  w^as 
accordingly  followed  up,  at  intervals  of  a  iew  months 
each,  by  the  Second^  and  Third  Letters ;  now  printed 
with  it.  The  public  opinion  of  these  was  not  less 
favorable  than  that  expressed  for  their  predecessor,  as 
was  testified  by  an  almost  unprecedented  demand,  con- 
suming several  large  editions  in  the  space  of  eighteen 
or  twenty  months.*  They  were  printed  collectively, 
with  the  addition  of  some  Directions  for  the  Clergy, 
Visitation  Charges,  &:c.,  in  1732. 

Bishop  Gibson's  next  work,  though  equally  pertain- 
ing to  his  office,  and  not  less  conducive  to  his  fame,  was 
of  a  very  diiferent  description.  His  life  had  been  spent 
during  a  period  in  which  the  contest  between  Popery 
and  Protestantism  had  been  waged,  perhaps,  merely  as 
a  controversy,  more  warmly  than  ever  before  or  since. 
The  talents  and  learning  of  tlie  greatest  men  of  the  age 
had  been  called  forth  in  the  reigns  of  James  II.,  of 
William,  and  of  Anne,  to  expose  the  corruptions  and 
absurdities  of  the  Romish  faith,  and  to  resist  the  effi)rts 
of  its  advocates.  Tliat  the  productions  thus  called  into 
existence  might  not  perish  with  the  interest  of  the 
temporary  struggle,  but  might  unite  their  various  excel- 
lences in  one  formidable  bulwark  of  the  faith  of  the 
Reformation,  Bishop  Gibson  determined  on  making  a 
collection  of  the  best,  arranging  them  into  a  systematic 


•  The  third  eilition  of  the  Second  Letter  (from  which  the  present 
reprint  is  made)  is  dated  1730,  and  the  second  edition  of  the  Third 
Letter  (used  for  the  same  purpose)  boars  the  date  of  173L  Each  of 
the  editions  is  said  to  have  consisted  of  ten  thousand  copies. 


MEMOIR.  13 

refutation  of  every  prominent  error  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  adding  such  preliminary  and  supplementary 
observations  as  might  seem  necessary  to  fit  them  for 
permanent  utility.  This  he  accomplished  in  his  Pre- 
servative against  Popery,,^  a  work  in  three  large  and 
closely  printed  folio  volumes,  published  in  1738.  The 
mere  labor  of  compiling  and  preparing  for  the  press 
such  a  body  of  matter  was  doubtless  very  great  ;  but 
that  of  selection  from  the  vast  mass  of  materials  fur- 
nished by  the  controversies  of  the  preceding  century 
must  have  been  even  greater.  But  Gibson  brought 
to  the  task  a  well-ripened  judgment,  and  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  his  subject  ;  and  his  collection, 
though  necessarily,  from  its  character  and  subject,  dry 
and  uninteresting  except  to  the  persevering  seeker  for 
truth,  and  from  its  bulk,  unwieldy  and  expensive,  never- 
theless reached  a  third  edition,  and  acquired  and  has 
maintained  the  rank  of  a  classic  work  of  reference. 

Another  Pastoral  Letter,  on  Reformation  of  Life, 
published  in  1745,^  and  several  minor  tracts  on  practi- 
cal subjects,  complete  the  measure  of  this  industrious 
writer's  benefactions  to  his  country  and  religion.  They 
form  the  least  ostentatious  portion  of  his  labors  ;  but 
they  have  been  widely  reprinted,  and  are  extensively 
circulated  to  this  very  day,  and  probably,  with  the 
exception  of  his  Three  Pastoral  Letters,  have  been 
more  useful  than  all  his  more  learned  and  better  known 
productions.  It  is  said  that  "  in  the  decline  of  his 
life.  Bishop  Gibson  received  more  satisfaction  from  the 
repeated  calls  for  these  practical  pieces,  than  from  the 
honor  conferred  on  him  by  his  larger  works  of  a  disci- 
plinarian and  controversial  nature. "•»  It  was  natural 
that  they  should  :  they  were  '  seed  sown  for  the  harvest 
of  the  just;'  while  the  others,  at  best,  were  but  laborious 
efforts  to  root  out  the  tares  of  human  error,  and  repair 
the  thorny  hedge  around  the  Saviour's  vineyard. 


f  A  Preservative  against  Popery  ;  or  a  Collection  of  the  Principal 
Treatises  in  the  Papal  Controversy  ;  digested  into  proper  Heads  and 
Titles,  with  some  Pre/aces  by  the  Compiler.  London,  1738,  3  vols, 
folio. 

=  This  was  the  Fifth.  I  am  ignorant  of  the  subject  and  date  of  tke 
JF'ourth. 

^  Aikin's  General  Biography. 

Vol.  v.— 2 


14  MEMOIR. 

At  length,  Bishop  Gibson's  naturally  vigorous  consti' 
tutioii  gave  way  under  the  accumulated  burthens  with 
which  it  had  been  charged.  He  became  sensible  of  decay 
and  languor,  which  increased  upon  him,  until  in  1748, 
he  ended  a  life  of  busy  toil  at  Bath,  whither  he  had  gone 
for  the  benefit  of  the  waters,  at  the  ripe  old  age  o^ 
seventy-nine. 

Gibson's  writings  do  not  entitle  him  to  the  rank  of 
a  superior  intellect.  They  contain  few,  if  any  traces 
of  originality  of  invention,  profundity  of  thought,  or 
vividness  of  imagination.  But  they  every  where  mani- 
fest a  clear  and  sober  judgment,  great  accuracy  and 
integrity,  and  unsparing  exertion  to  be  himself  master 
of  his  subject,  and  to  convey  his  own  stock  of  know- 
ledge undiminished  to  his  reader.  It  does  but  enhance 
the  deservings  of  a  man  who  has  conferred  so  many 
benefits  upon  posterity,  that  he  was  enabled  to  do  it, 
not  by  the  possession  of  extraordinary  endowments, 
but  by  his  own  assiduous  employment  of  a  moderate 
share  of  talent.  His  example  may  afford  just  en- 
couragement to  the  young  student  anxious  to  do  his 
part  towards  the  benefit  of  his  race,  but  diffident  of  his 
abilities.  Such  a  one  may  derive  incentives  to  exer- 
tion, and  fair  hopes  of  ultimate  success,  from  the  life  of 
a  man  who  without  fortune,  with  few  friends,  and  with 
no  uncommon  pretensions  to  distinction  on  account  of 
mental  powers,  not  only  raised  himself  to  the  summit 
of  his  profession,  and  established  a  durable  reputation 
as  a  writer,  but  attained  the  far  more  enviable  character 
of  a  benefactor  to  his  fellow-beings — a  benefactor  of 
the  noblest  class,  securing  the  advantages  of  a  reason- 
able faith  and  holy  profession  to  thousands  and  ten 
thousands  who  may  be  ignorant  of  his  dignity  and  fame,, 
but  know  him  as  the  earnest  and  successful  advocate  of 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  Jesus. 


BISHOP  OF  LONDON'S 
FIRST     PASTORAL     LETTER 

TO  THE 

PEOPLE  OF  HIS  DIOCESE; 

OCCASIONED   BY  SOME   LATE   WRITINGS    IN  FAVOR  OF   INFIDELITT. 


The  office  I  bear  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  my 
particular  relation  to  this  diocese,  oblige  me  to  study 
your  spiritual  good,  and  to  warn  you  of  any  danger  to 
which  I  see  you  exposed,  either  in  principle  or  practice. 
For  though  you  are  committed,  as  to  your  spiritual 
affairs,  to  the  more  immediate  care  and  direction  of 
parochial  ministers,  yet  not  so,  as  to  cease  to  be  a  part 
of  the  Episcopal  care,  especially  in  cases  where  the 
concern  is  general,  and  the  dangers  such  as  may  not 
fall  under  the  observation  of  every  particular  pastor. 
And  I  am  not  without  hope,  that  what  I  shall  say  to 
you,  will  be  more  generally  attended  to,  and  make  an 
impression  somewhat  stronger,  as  it  comes  to  you 
directly  from  the  hands  of  your  Bishop ;  and,  being 
not  spoken,  but  written,  you  will  have  better  op- 
portunity to  peruse,  consider,  and  apply  it,  with  such 
care  and  deliberation  as  the  importance  of  the  matter 
deserves. 

This  method,  I  own,  is  uncommon,  but  so  is  the 
occasion  too;  and  nowhere  so  great  and  pressing,  as 
in  these  two  large  and  populous  cities  ;  whether  we 
consider  the  variety  of  temptations,  or  the  powerful 
influence  of  bad  examples  ;  the  corrupt  principles  and 
practices  which  first  spring  up  here,  or  the  quick  and 
easy  propagation  of  them  from  hence  into  all  parts  of 
the  kingdom ;  which  makes  the  checking  and  sup- 
pressing them  here  as  much  as  possible,  to  be  truly  a 
national  concern. 


16  BISHOP  Gibson's 

They  who  live  in  these  great  cities,  or  have  had 
frequent  recourse  to  them,  and  have  any  concern  for 
religion,  must  have  observed  to  their  great  grief,  that 
profaneness  and  impiety  are  grown  bold  and  open; 
that  a  new  sort  of  vice  of  a  very  horrible  nature,  and 
almost  unknown  before  in  these  parts  of  the  world, 
was  springing  up  and  gaining  ground  among  us,  if  it  had 
not  been  checked  by  the  seasonable  care  of  the  civil 
administration  ;  that  in  some  late  writings,  public  stews 
have  been  openly  vindicated,  and  private  vices  recom- 
mended to  the  protection  of  the  government,  as  public 
benefits ;  '^  and,  that  great  pains  have  been  taken  to 
make  men  easy  in  their  vices,  and  to  deliver  them  from 
the  restraints  of  conscience,  by  undermining  all  religion, 
and  promoting  atheism  and  infidelity  ;  and,  what  adds 
to  the  danger,  by  doing  it  under  specious  colors  and 
pretences  of  several  kinds.  One,  under  pretence  of 
opposing  the  encroachments  of  popery,  thereby  to 
recommend  himself  to  the  unwary  Protestant  reader, 
has  labored  at  once  to  set  aside  all  Christian  ordinances, 
and  the  very  being  of  a  Christian  ministry  and  a  Chris- 
tian Church.''  Another,  under  color  of  great  zeal  for 
the  Jewish  dispensation,  and  the  literal  meaning  of 
Scripture,  has  been  endeavoring  to  overthrow  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Christian  religion. =  A  third,  pretending 
to  raise  the  actions  and  miracles  of  our  Saviour  to  a 
more  exalted  and  spiritual  meaning,  has  labored  to  take 
away  the  reality  of  them,  and  by  that  to  destroy  one  of 
the  principal  evidences  of  Christianity.''  Others  have 
shown  a  great  zeal  for  natural  religion  in  opposition 

»  [The  author  refers  to  the  execrable  production  of  Mandeville — 
The  Fable  of  the  Bees,  or,  Private  Vices  Public  Benefits.] 

•»  [ToLAN'D,  in  his  Christianity  not  Mysterious,  1702:  which  was 
subsequently  Ibllowed  up  by  several  other  works  more  openly  attacking 
all  revealed  religion,  and  inculcating  atheism  or  pantheism.  IVie 
Rights  of  the  Christian  Church  Asserted,  a  still  more  specious  attack 
upon  Christianity  in  the  garb  of  Popery,  attributed  to  a  club  of  infidels, 
appeared  about  the  same  period.] 

c  [Anthony  Collins,  in  the  Grounds  and  Reasons  of  the  Christian 
Religion  CoJisidered,  1723 — the  work  which  gave  occasion  to  Bishop 
Suerlock's  excellent  Discourses  on  the  Use  and  Intent  of  Prophecy. 
Collins  attempted  to  defend  himself,  and  state  his  scheme  more  fully, 
in  his  Scheme  of  Literal  Prophecy  Considered,  1726.] 

d  [Thomas  Woolston,  in  a  work  entitled  Discourses  on  the  Miraclet 
of  9ur  Saviour,  1727.] 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  17 

to  revealed,^  with  no  other  view,  as  it  seems,  than  to 
get  rid  of  the  restraints  of  revealed  religion,  and  to 
make  way  for  unbounded  enjoyment  of  their  corrupt 
appetites  and  vicious  inclinations,  no  less  contrary  in 
reality  to  the  obligations  of  natural  religion,  than  of 
revealed.  And  all  or  most  of  these  writers,  under 
color  of  pleading  for  the  liberties  of  mankind,  have  run 
into  an  unprecedented  licentiousness,  in  treating  the 
serious  and  important  concerns  of  religion  in  a  ludi- 
crous and  reproachful  manner. 

These  are  things  which  no  serious  Christian — I 
might  add,  no  serious  Deist  who  has  any  sense  of  God 
upon  his  mind,  and  any  regard  to  virtue  and  morality, 
or  even  to  common  decency  and  order — can  behold  and 
reflect  on,  without  a  very  sensible  concern.  Much 
more  ought  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  to  be  awake, 
a,nd  to  double  their  care  over  the  souls  committed  to 
their  charge,  when  they  see  so  many  devices  set  on 
foot  to  corrupt  and  poison  them,  both  in  their  principles 
and  morals.  Accordingly,  on  this  occasion  many  ex- 
cellent books  have  been  published  in  defence  of  the 
Christian  religion,  against  those  writings  in  favor  of  in- 
fidelity. In  which  boo^vs  the  authors  have,  with  great 
learning,  strength,  and  perspicuity,  maintained  the  cause 
of  religion,  and  detected  the  sophistry  of  its  adversa- 
ries.;— whose  art  it  has  been,  in  some  cases,  to  lay  hold 
on  little  circumstances,  as  if  tho  whole  of  Christianity 
depended  upon  them,  and  by  that  to  draw  the  reader's 
■attention  from  the  most  plain  and  substantial  arguments 
for  the  trijjth  of  it ;  and  at  other  times,  by  perplexing 
and  misapplying  the  plainest  proofs,  to  make  way  for 
their  own  interpretations,  and  for  imposing  them  more 
easily  upon  unwary  and  ignorant  readers  ;  and^  which 
is  no  less  unfair  and  disingenuous,  to  misrepresent  the 
sense  of  judicious  writers,  and  to  pick  weak  arguments 
out  of  those  who  are  less  guarded,  in  order  to  expose  the 
whole  as  ridiculous.  To  defeat  these  indirect  arts  and 
endeavors,  the  same  learned  writers  have  taken  off 
those  false  colors,  and  placed  the  evidences  of  Christian- 


e  [Among  these  TiNDAL,  author  of  Christianity  as  old  as  the  Crea- 
Hon,  1730,  and  Chubb,  the  writer  of  several  minor  tracts^  were  pre- 
eminent.] 

-2* 


18  BISHOP  Gibson's 

ity  upon  their  true  foundation ;  and,  by  setting  them  in 
their  proper  and  genuine  light,  and  representing  them 
in  their  united  strength,  have  abundantly  shown  that 
no  impartial  or  unprejudiced  person  who  considers  them 
with  attention,  can  doubt  of  their  force  and  sufficiency 
to  convince  any  reasonable  and  well-disposed  mind. 

But  because  these  writings  are  too  large  and  too 
learned  to  be  read  and  examined  by  the  generality  of 
people,  and  consist  of  such  a  chain  oif  reasoning  as  per- 
sons of  common  capacity  cannot  easily  follow  and  com- 
prehend ; — who,  as  they  have  less  leisure  as  well  as 
fibility  to  enter  into  particular  examinations,  are  more 
liable  to  be  imposed  upon,  and  more  like  to  be  attacked 
by  the  enemies  of  Christianity  :  for  this  reason  I  have 
thought  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  draw  up  for  your  use 
some  few  rules  and  cautions,  which  are  short  and  easy, 
and  which,  being  frequently  perused,  and  duly  attended 
to,  may  be  a  means,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  to  pre- 
serve sincere  and  unprejudiced  Christians  from  these 
dangerous  infections. 

I.  Be  sure  that  you  have  a  mind  sincerely  de- 
sirous TO  KNOW  the  m  ill  of  God,  and  firmly  re- 
solved TO  COMPLY  with  WHATEVER  SHALL  APPEAR 
TO   BE   HIS  WILL. 

This  is  a  necessary  preparation  for  the  knowledge  of 
divine  truths, — to  be  willing  to  know,  and  ready  to 
practise ;  without  which,  men  not  only  may  be  easily 
deceived  by  others,  but  are  in  effect  determined  before- 
hand to  deceive  themselves.  Where  there  is  an  unwil- 
lingness to  part  with  lusts  and  pleasures,  a\id  worldly 
interests,  there  must  of  course  be  a  desire  that  the 
Christian  religion  should  not  be  true,  and  a  willingness 
to  favor  and  embrace  any  argument  that  is  brought 
against  it,  and  to  cherish  any  doubts  and  scruples  that 
shall  be  raised  concerning  it.  From  a  mind  so  disposed 
and  so  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  enemy,  Christianity 
cannot  expect  a  fair  hearing,  but  on  the  contrary  all 
the  disadvantage  and  opposition  that  lusts  and  passions 
can  suggest.  And  therefore  our  Saviour  lays  down  this 
as  the  true  foundation  of  divine  knowledge,  "  If  any  man 
will  do  God's  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  19 

it  be  of  God  ;"^  implying  that  a  sincere  desire  to  know 
the  truth,  with  an  honest  disposition  to  conform  our  wills 
and  affections  to  it  when  known,  is  the  best  preservative 
against  error  in  religion,  and  carries  with  it  a  well- 
grounded  assurance  of  the  divine  aid,  to  assist  persons  so 
disposed  in  their  inquiries  afier  truth.  And  the  words 
do  also  carry  in  them  this  other  assertion, — that  who- 
ever is  not  first  sincerely  disposed  to  do  the  will  of  God, 
he  shall  be  in  great  danger  of  not  knowing  the  doctrine 
whether  it  be  of  God,  and  of  remaining  in  a  state  of 
ignorance  and  error. 

II.  As  A  FURTHER  PROOF  OF  YOUR  SINCERITY,  BE 
CAREFUL  AND  DILIGENT  IN  THE   USE   OF  THOSE  MEANS 

WHICH  God  has  afforded  you  for  the  right  under- 
standing OF  HIS  WILL :  particularly  in  reading  the 
Scriptures,  and  making  them  familiar  to  you,  and  com- 
paring one  part  of  them  with  another;  by  which  a  mo- 
derate capacity  may  make  considerable  advancement  in 
the  knowledge  of  religion.  And  you  must  not  fail  to 
pray  to  God,  that  in  all  your  searches  and  inquiries 
after  the  truth,  he  will  be  pleased  to  guide  and  direct 
you  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  which  he  is  always  ready  to 
vouchsafe  to  every  humble  and  sincere  mind.  And  if 
after  all  your  own  endeavors,  you  meet  with  difficul- 
ties of  any  kind,  have  recourse  to  some  persons  of  piety 
and  learning,  upon  whose  knowledge  and  judgment  you 
believe  you  may  safely  rely.  Only  beware  that  the  dif- 
ficulties be  not  owing  either  to  a  willingness  on  your 
part  to  raise  them,  or  to  the  indulging  yourselves  in 
over-curious  and  needless  inquiries. 

III.  After  you  have  secured  the  sincerity  of 
your  own  hearts,  attend  to  the  LIVES  of  those 
who  endeavor  to  seduce  you,  or  whom  you  see  en- 
deavoring TO  seduce  others: — Whether,  in  the  ge- 
neral course  of  them,  they  have  been  sober,  and  regular, 
and  virtuous;  or,  on  the  contrary,  vicious  and  irregular? 
If  the  latter,  do  not  wonder  that  they  take  so  much 
pains  to  reason  themselves  into  infidelity,  without  which 
their  minds  cannot  be  easy  in  the  enjoyment  of  their 


f  John  vU.  17. 


20  BISHOP  GIBSON'S 

vices ;  nor  that  they  become  advocates  for  it,  and  are 
industrious  to  gain  proselytes,  on  purpose  to  keep  them- 
selves in  countenance,  and  to  make  their  vices  less  infa- 
mous, by  being  more  fashionable.  Take  it  for  granted, 
that  such  men  are  enemies  to  religion  for  no  other  rea- 
son but  because  religion  is  an  enemy  to  their  luxury  and 
lusts.  For  as  it  has  been  already  observed  under  the 
first  head,  that  a  mind  virtuously  disposed  and  sincerely 
desirous  to  understand  the  will  of  God  is  the  best  pre- 
paration for  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  so  is  a  vicious 
mind,  and  a  willingness  and  inclination  to  disbelieve, 
the  natural  and  necessary  parent  of  error  and  delu- 
sion. 

And  as  some  are  naturally  led  by  their  lusts,  to 
oppose  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  ;  so  others  are  led 
by  pride  and  self-conceit,  to  raise  doubts  and  disputes 
concerning  any  opinions  and  doctrines  which  are  gene- 
rally received  and  established,  how  evident  soever  it 
may  be  that  the  doctrines  they  oppose  are  agreeable  to 
all  the  principles  of  virtue  in  general,  and  of  Christianity 
in  particular.  Such  men  disdain  to  think  in  the  com- 
mon way ;  and  valuing  themselves  upon  a  more  than 
ordinary  share  of  knowledge  and  penetration,  do  ahvays 
affect  novelty  and  singularity  in  opinion.  Which  oppos- 
ing humor  was  well  expressed  by  one  of  our  modern 
advocates  for  infidelity  in  what  he  is  reported  to  have 
said  of  one  of  his  fellow-laborers,  to  this  effect,  '  that 
if  his  own  opinions  were  established  to-day,  he  would 
oppose  them  to-morrow.'  When  therefore  you  observe 
any  person  to  be  eager  and  forward  in  raising  doubts 
and  scruples  about  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  who 
also  on  other  occasions  appears  to  take  a  delight  in 
disputing,  and  wrangling,  and  opposing  the  general 
sentiments  of  mankind;  Avonder  not  at  it,  but  place  it, 
as  you  well  may,  to  the  account  of  pride  and  self-con- 
ceit ;  and  the  natural  effects  of  these,  a  spirit  of  con- 
tradiction. 

IV.  Wheis'  totj  meet  with  any  book  fpon  the 

SUBJECT   OF   RELIGION,   THAT   IS   WRITTEN   IN  A    LUDI- 
CROUS   OR    UNSERIOUS   manner;    take   it    for 

GRANTED    THAT   IT    PROCEEDS   FROM   A  DEPRAVED  MIND, 
AND  IS  WRITTEN  WITH    AN   IRRELIGIOUS  DESIGJJ. 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  21 

Such  books  are  calculated,  not  to  inform  the  under- 
standing, but  to  corrupt  the  heart.  There  is  no  sub- 
ject, how  grave  or  sublime  soever  in  itself,  but  may  be 
turned  into  jest  and  ridicule  ;  and  by  being  so  turned, 
may  be  made  to  appear  mean  and  despicable.  And  the 
promoters  of  infidelity  very  well  know,  that  if  by  this 
artifice  they  can  take  off  the  reverence  that  belongs  to 
religion,  the  minds  of  the  people  are  easily  carried  into 
a  disregard  of  it  and  an  indifference  about  it ;  which  is 
of  course  an  inlet  to  vice  ;  and  vice  quickly  improves 
an  indifference  about  religion,  into  a  prejudice  against 
it,  and  by  degrees  into  a  professed  enmity  to  it.  Be 
sure,  therefore,  to  avoid  this  snare  ;  and  do  not  only 
lay  aside,  but  abhor  all  such  books  as  turn  religion  into 
jest  and  mirth  :  for,  next  to  the  writing  and  publishing 
them,  there  is  not  a  more  certain  sign  of  a  depraved 
and  irreligious  mind,  than  the  finding  any  degree  of 
satisfaction  and  complacency  in  them. 

V.  Be  not  persuaded  to  part  with  revelation, 

UNDER  pretence  OF  RELYING  ON  NATURAL  REA- 
SON AS  YOUR  ONLY  GUIDE.  For  reason,  without  the 
assistance  given  it  by  revelation,  has  in  fact  appeared 
to  be  a  very  insuflficient  guide.  For  which  we  may 
appeal  to  the  endless  and  irreconcilable  differences 
among  the  ancient  philosophers,  not  only  in  speculative 
opinions,  but  in  the  great  rules  of  duty,  as  to  what  is 
right  or  wrong,  lawful  or  unlawful ;  and  even  in  the 
chief  end  or  good  which  man  ought  to  propose  to  him- 
self in  order  to  his  happiness.  And  it  would  be  very 
strange,  to  suppose  that  the  generality  of  mankind  have 
suflUcient  leisure  and  ability  to  enter  into  the  depths  of 
philosophy,  and  to  compare  the  opinions  of  the  several 
philosophers,  and  to  determine,  upon  the  foot  of  natural 
reason,  which  of  them  is  in  the  right  and  which  in  the 
wrong.  And  much  more  extraordinary  would  it  be  to 
expect,  that  for  the  sake  of  such  an  uncertain  and  im- 
practicable rule,  they  should  lay  aside  a  plain,  clear 
and  uniform  scheme  of  duty,  obvious  to  the  meanest 
capacities,  and  fully  attested  to  come  from  God. 

But  suppose  the  philosophers  had  furnished  us  with 
a  consistent  and  uniform  scheme  of  moral  duties — which 
they  are  very  far  from  having  done  ;  there  are  many 


22  BISHOP  Gibson's 

other  things  that  revelation  has  discovered  to  us,  which 
were  either  wholly  unknown,  or  known  very  imper- 
fectly, to  the  best  and  wisest  among  them,  and  yet  are 
absolutely  necessary  to  give  mankind  a  full  knowledge 
of  their  duty,  and  to  make  them  proceed  in  it  with  com- 
fort and  constancy.  Such  are, — the  way  in  which  an 
acceptable  worship  may  be  performed  to  the  deity  ; — 
the  certain  method  of  obtaining  pardon  of  sin,  and 
reconciliation  to  God,  and  supernatural  assistance  to 
enable  us  to  do  his  will : — and,  that  most  powerful 
motive  to  duty  and  obedience,  the  full  assurance  of 
rewards  and  punishments  in  another  life,  according  to 
our  behavior  in  this ;  without  a  firm  persuasion  of 
which  (much  firmer  than  any  philosopher  ever  arrived 
to)  it  is  morally  impossible  that  mankind,  in  this  cor- 
rupt state,  should  be  restrained  from  excess  and  vio- 
lence, and  preserved  in  a  regular  and  orderly  course  of 
duty. 

But  the  truth  is  ;  natural  religion,  as  set  up  against 
revelation  by  our  present  advocates  for  infidelity,  is 
very  difierent  from  that  which  the  wisest  of  the  ancient 
philosophers  discovered  by  the  light  of  reason  ;^  and 
this  in  some  very  material  points.  With  the  one,  the 
government  of  the  appetites  was  their  great  foundation 
of  virtue  and  goodness  ;  but  with  the  other,  the  great 
aim  seems  to  be  to  gratify  them  ;  and  so,  their  main 
objection  against  Christianity  must  be,  that  it  requires 
self-denial,  and  lays  restraints  upon  the  irregular  appe- 
tites of  mankind.  The  ancient  moralists  labored  by 
all  the  arguments  they  could  find,  to  give  themselves 
what  they  thought  a  comfortable  hope  of  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul  and  a  future  state  ;  but  there  is  too 
much  cause  to  believe,  that  our  modern  reasoners  do 


^  [The  natural  religion  so  miach  vaunted  by  the  enemies  of  Chris- 
tianity is,  in  fact,  a  borrowed  light — owing  all  that  it  contains  intrin- 
sically valuable  to  the  Gospel.  Its  views  of  the  Divine  nature  and 
attributes,  and  its  system  of  morality,  are  derived  thence,  and  then 
most  unfairly  set  in  competition.  See  more  on  this  point  under  the 
2d  head  of  the  Second  Pastoral  Letter;  and  a  full  discussion  of  it,  in 
the  admirable  treatise  entitled  The  Knowledge  of  Divine  Things 
from  Revelation,  by  J.  Elms  :  it  is  there  satisfactorily  proved,  that 
even  the  natural  religion  of  the  ancient  philosophers,  inferior  as  it  was 
to  the  idol  of  modern  infidelity,  was  not  independent  of  revelation,  but 
4erived  its  darkling  glimpses  of  the  truth  from  primitive  tradition.] 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  23 

not  wish  Of  desire  that  these  things  may  be  true ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  great  aim  of  all  their  endeavors  seems 
to  be,  to  root  the  apprehension  of  them  out  of  the  world. 
The  wisest  and  most  learned  of  the  philosophers  of  old, 
saw  and  lamented  their  own  ignorance,  and  the  imper- 
fection of  the  utmost  knowledge  that  natural  reason  can 
attain  to,  and  the  great  necessity  there  was  of  some 
further  light.''  But  our  modern  philosophers  are  self- 
sufficient — so  far  from  desiring  further  light  of  any  kind, 
that  it  is  one  part  of  their  character  to  disclaim  all 
assistance,  even  though  it  be  from  a  divine  revelation. 
The  ancients  preserved  the  greatest  reverence  for  things 
sacred  ;  but  their  pretended  successors  in  our  times, 
turn  every  thing  that  is  sacred  into  jest  and  ridicule. 
So  that  natural  religion,  as  now  contended  for  among 
us,  seems  not  to  be  meant  for  a  rule  of  duty,  but  only  a 
specious  name,  to  be  set  up  against  revelation,  and  to 
prove  Christianity,  not  only  as  to  the  doctrinal  but 
even  the  moral  part  of  it,  to  be  a  needless  institution. 
And  certainly  there  cannot  be  a  greater  sign  of  a  per- 
verse and  depraved  mind,  than  endeavoring  to  depre- 
ciate it ; — as  it  is  an  institution,  that  contains  in  it  the 
religion  of  nature  explained,  improved,  and  raised  to 
greater  degrees  of  purity  and  perfection;'  regulating 
the  inward  thoughts  as  well  as  the  outward  actions ; 


^  [See  under  the  3d  head  of  the  Second  Pastoral  Letter.'] 
'  [That  is  to  say,  involving  in  itself,  and  developing  to  their  full 
extent  and  operation,  all  those  principles  and  precepts,  whether  relics 
of  early  knowledge  from  revelation  or  gleanings  from  the  Gospel  itself, 
which  have  been  dignified  with  the  name  of  *  natural  religion.' — The 
Bishop  is  arguing  with  the  infidel  on  his  own  grounds,  and  admits  for 
the  moment,  what  ought  never  to  be  seriously  granted,  that  the  Gospel 
is  merely  a  republication  of  a  previously  existing  religious  system. 
Nothing  has  done  more  towards  the  degradation  of  our  holy  faith  from 
its  true  rank  as  "  the  righteousness  of  God  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ  unto  all  and  upon  all  them  that  believe,"—"  the  grace  of  God 
bringing  salvation" — into  a  mere  lifeless  system  of  abstract  speculation, 
than  the  incautious  admission  of  such  views.  All  that  gives  Chris- 
tianity its  value,  as  the  revelation  of  "the  Word  made  flesh,  dwelling 
among  us  full  of  grace  and  truth,"  and  "  giving  himself  for  us  that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar 
people,  zealous  of  good  works,"  is  wholly  beyond  the  stretch  of  so- 
called  natural  religion,  and  neither  an  '  explanation,'  '  improvement,' 
nor  '  exaltation,'  of  that  system,  but  an  independent  revelation  of  "  the 
kindness  and  love  of  God  our  Saviour,"  and  "the  blessed  hope" 
which  that  love  has  granted  us.] 


24 

requiring  us  to  abstain  not  only  from  sin,  but  from  all 
tendencies  to  it ;  not  only  from  evil,  but  from  all  ap- 
pearance of  evil ;  commanding  us  to  love  and  do  good 
to  our  enemies  as  well  as  friends  ;  and  enforcing  the 
strict  observance  both  of  moral  and  Christian  duties,  by 
motives  and  obligations  stronger  by  far,  than  any  that 
natural  reason  can  suggest ; — as  it  lays  down  a  plain 
and  easy  rule  of  life,  adapted  to  the  meanest  as  well  as 
the  highest  capacities  ; — as  the  precepts  of  it  are  excel- 
lently calculated  for  the  peace  and  happiness  of  man- 
kind, by  laying  the  strongest  restraints  upon  their 
irregular  passions,  (anger,  hatred,  and  revenge,)  and 
every  where  inculcating  the  most  amiable  lessons  of 
meekness,  benevolence,  and  forgiveness ; — as  it  re- 
quires and  enforces  a  strict  observance  of  the  duties 
belonging  to  the  several  relations  of  mankind  to  one 
another,  on  which  the  peace  and  order,  not  only  of 
private  families,  but  of  public  societies,  so  greatly  de- 
pend ; — as  it  furnishes  us  with  the  best  motives  and 
most  substantial  arguments  for  comfort  in  the  time  of 
affliction,  and  enables  us  to  bear  all  the  evils  of  this  life 
with  patience  and  contentment ; — and  finally,  as  it  opens 
to  us  a  most  comfortable  view  of  happiness  and  immor- 
tality in  a  future  state. — How  such  an  institution  should 
become  the  object  of  their  hatred  and  dislike,  is  not  to 
be  accounted  for,  but  from  somewhat  very  corrupt  and 
irregular  in  their  hearts  ;  which  makes  them  first  averse 
to  the  purity  it  requires,  and,  for  the  sake  of  that,  pro- 
fessed enemies  to  the  institution  itself. 

VI.  Do  NOT  RECKON  THE  TRUTH  OF  ANY  DISPENSA- 
TION OR  DOCTRINE  TO  BE  REALLY  DOUBTFUL,  MERE- 
LY BECAUSE  SOME  MEN  AFFECT  TO  MAKE  A  DOUBT 
OF  IT. 

There  are  monsters  in  mind,  as  well  as  in  body;  and 
it  is  an  old  observation,  that  there  was  no  opinion  so 
absurd,  but  what  some  philosopher  had  held.  The 
truth  is,  follies  and  absurdities  in  opinion  are  without 
end,  where  men  give  themselves  up  to  skepticism,  and 
at  the  same  time  are  positive  and  conceited,  and  afraid 
that  they  shall  not  sufficiently  distinguish  themselves, 
and  transmit  their  names  to  posterity  with  advantage, 
but  by  broaching   odd  and  singular  notions,  and  by 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  35 

thinking  differently  from  the  generality  of  mankind ; 
which  leads  them  of  course  to  oppose  whatever  is  gene- 
rally received  and  established.  And  when  the  doctrines 
which  they  set  themselves  to  overthrow,  are  such  as 
curb  and  cross  the  corrupt  and  inordinate  desires  of 
nature,  and  their  own  doctrines  come  recommended  by 
giving  full  liberty  and  indulgence  to  the  irregular  appe- 
tites of  men,  and  by  lessening  their  apprehensions  of  a 
future  account,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  they  gain 
proselytes. 

VII.  When  a  revelation  is  sufficiently  attest- 
ed TO  COME  FROM  GoD,  LET  IT  NOT  WEAKEN  YOUR 
FAITH,  IF  YOU  CANNOT  CLEARLY  SEE  THE  FITNESS 
AND  EXPEDIENCE  OF  EVERY  PART  OF  IT. 

This  would  be,  to  make  yourselves  as  knowing  as  God, 
whose  wisdom  is  infinite,  and  the  depth  of  whose  dis- 
pensations, with  the  reasons  and  ends  of  them,  are  not 
to  be  fathomed  by  our  short  and  narrow  comprehen- 
sions. God  has  given  us  sufGcient  capacity  to  know 
him,  and  to  learn  our  duty,  and  to  judge  when  a  revela- 
tion comes  from  him,  which  is  all  the  knowledge  that  is 
needful  to  us  in  our  present  state.  And  it  is  the  greatest 
folly,  as  well  as  presumption,  in  any  man,  to  enter  into 
the  counsels  of  God,  and  to  make  himself  a  judge  of  the 
wisdom  of  his  dispensations  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  con- 
clude that  this  or  that  revelation  cannot  come  from  God, 
because  he  cannot  see  in  every  respect  the  fitness  and 
reasonableness  of  it : — to  say,  for  instance,  that  either 
we  had  no  need  of  a  Redeemer,  or  that  a  better  method 
might  have  been  contrived  for  our  redemption  ;  and, 
upon  the  whole,  not  to  give  God  leave  to  save  us  in  his 
own  way."^  In  these  cases,  the  true  inference  is,  that  the 
revelation  is  therefore  wise,  and  good,  and  just,  and  fit 
to  be  received  and  submitted  to  by  us,  because  we  have 
sufficient  reason  to  believe  that  it  comes  from  God.  For 
so  far  he  has  made  us  competent  judges,  inasmuch  as  na- 
tural reason  informs  us  what  are  the  proper  evidences 
of  a  divine  revelation  :  but  he  has  not  let  us  into  the 


«  [The  inculcation  of  this  lesson  is  the  design  of  Bishop  Butler's 
Analogy  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion — a  work  which  it  is 
superfluous  to  recommend  or  praise.] 

Vol.  v.— 3 


26  BISHOP  Gibson's 

springs  of  his  administration,  nor  shown  us  the  whole 
compass  of  it,  nor  the  connexion  of  the  several  parts 
with  one  another ;  nor,  by  consequence,  can  we  be  ca- 
pable to  judge  adequately  of  the  fitness  of  the  means 
w^hich  he  makes  use  of  to  attain  the  ends.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  attempting  to  make  such  a  judgment,  is  to' 
set  ourselves  in  the  place  of  God,  and  to  forget  that  we 
are  frail  men  ;  that  is,  short-sighted  and  ignorant  crea- 
tures, who  know  very  little  of  divine  matters,  further 
than  it  has  pleased  God  to  reveal  them  to  us, 

VIII.  Suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  drawn  from 
THE  MORE  PLAIN  AND  DIRECT  proofs  of  the  truth 
OF  Christianity,  to  proofs,  which,  however  good, 

ARE   less  obvious  TO  COMMON  CAPACITIES. 

This  is  an  artifice  usual  with  writers  who  engage  in  a 
bad  cause  ;  to  labor,  in  the  first  place,  to  fix  the  merits  of 
the  cause  they  oppose,  upon  some  point  which  either  has 
little  relation  to  it,  or  at  least  is  not  the  main  point  ;  and 
then  to  run  into  such  proofs  as  are  most  remote  and  in- 
tricate ;  and  both  these,  on  purpose  to  draw  the  reader's 
attention  from  the  true  state  of  the  case,  and  from  the 
proofs  which  are  most  plain,  strong,  and  direct. 

There  are  many  sorts  of  proofs,  by  which  the  truth 
of  Christianity  is  supported:  as,  1.  Types;  2.  Prophe- 
cies ;      3.     THE     GENERAL     EXPECTATION     OF     ChRIST's 

coming  at  that  time;  4.  the  miracles  he  wrought;  5. 
his  PREDICTIONS  of  his  own  death  and  resurrection,  and 
many  other  events,  which  were  punctually  fulfilled  ;  and 
6.  the  speedy  and  wonderful  propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  after  his  death.  But  all  these,  though  in  them* 
selves  cogent  and  conclusive,  are  not  equally  plain  anci 
clear  to  everj^  capacity, 

I.  The  Types  which  the  Christian  writers  of  allage$ 
have  insisted  on,  as  prefiguring  a  suffering  Saviour, 
could  not  be  applied  to  Christ  by  the  Jews  who  lived 
before  his  coming,  because  they  expected  a  temporal 
prince  and  a  triumphant  Saviour.  But  they  are  ex* 
pressly  applied  to  him,  and  represented  as  centring  in 
him,  by  the  inspired  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  particularly  by  St.  Paul,  who  received  his  inslruc* 


FIRSt  PASTORAL  LEtTER.  2K 

tions  immediately  from  heaven.'  The  paschal  lamb, 
for  instance,  which  was  slain  every  year  at  the  feast  of 
the  passovej,  and  was  by  God's  special  appointment  to 
be  "  without  blemish,""'  and  to  be  slain  only  at  Jeru- 
salem,°  and  the  *'  bones  of  it  not  to  be  broken  ;"°  was 
most  manifestly  a  type  of  our  Saviour's  death  ;  which, 
besides  an  agreement  in  the  circumstances  already 
mentioned,  was  on  the  very  same  day,  and  on  the  very 
same  part  of  the  day,  that  the  paschal  lamb  was  appoint- 
ed to  be  slain;  and,  by  a  signal  providence,  a  bone  of 
him  was  not  broken ;  though  it  was  a  known  custom  to 
break  the  bones  of  those  who  were  crucified,  and  the 
bones  of  the  two  who  were  crucified  with  him  were 
actually  broken.  Well  then  might  John  the  Baptist 
say  to  the  pcDple,  "  Behold  the  lamb  of  God  ;"p  and  St. 
Paul  style  him,  "Christ  our  passover  ;"'3  and  St.  Peter 
speak  of  him,  "  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  with- 
out spot."*- 

2.  In  like  manner,  the  Prophecies  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, as  foretelling  the  time,  place  and  other  circum- 
stances of  the  birth,  life,  death,  and  resurrection  of  the 
Messiah,  with  many  particulars  concerning  the  nature 
of  his  kingdom,  and  the  times  of  it,  are  not  only  applied 
to  him  by  the  inspired  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  by  the  succeeding  Christians  in  all  ages,  but  were 
so  applied  by  the  ancient  Jewish  writers  themselves, 
long  before  ihe  coming  of  Christ  into  the  world. 
From  whence  arose  that  general  expectation  of  his 
coming  at  that  time,  which  we  find  attested  by  the  con- 
curring evidence  of  Jewish,  Christian,  and  Heathen 
writers,  s 


'  [Compare  what  is  said  on  the  subject  by  West,  Standard  Works, 
Vol.  I.  p.  243,  ss. ;  and  in  the  references  there  given.] 

■^  Exodus  xii.  5,  "  Deuteronomy  xvi.  5,  6. 

o  Exodus  xii.  46. — Numbers  ix.  12,     p  John  i.  29. 

q  1  Corinthians  v,  7.  «•  1  Pet.  i.  19. 

s  [A  brief  but  comprehensive  recapitulation  of  the  prophecies  on 
which  the  expectation  of  the  Messiah  among  the  Jews  was  founded, 
is  given  byHoRNE,  Introd.  to  the  Scriptures,  Vol.  L  Chap.  IV.  Sect  III. 
Class.  3.  Comp.  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  Art.  II.  Some  very  curious 
statements  and  speculations  on  the  expectation  of  a  Messiah  among 
the  Heathen,  may  be  found  in  Bp.  Horsley's  Dissertation  published 
with  his  Posthumous  Sermons.'\ 


28  BISHOP  Gibson's 

That  a  Messiah  was  promised  in  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  and  that  this  was  universally  believed  and 
acknowledged  by  the  Jews,  appears  by  the  whole  tenor 
of  St.  Paul's  and  St.  Peter's  discourses  to  them,  as  they 
are  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ;  where  we 
see  plainly,  the  only  point  in  dispute  between  them  and 
the  Jews,  was.  Whether  or  no  that  promise  was  fulfilled 
in  our  Saviour  ?  For  as  the  apostles  constantly  reasoned 
with  them  from  the  prophecies  and  predictions  of  the 
Old  Testament ;  so  all  their  reasonings  were  to  prove, 
that  they  were  fulfilled  in  him.  We  do  not  find,  that 
any  doubt  was  raised  by  the  Jews  whether  the  passages 
quoted  from  those  books,  had  been  rightly  applied  to  a 
Messiah  by  their  own  teachers,  or  whether  the  expecta- 
tion there  was  of  a  great  deliverer  was  well  founded  in 
the  Scriptures  ?  The  only  thing  which,  the  Jews  them- 
selves being  judges,  wanted  to  be  proved,  was,  that 
those  Scriptures  were  rightly  applied  by  the  apostles 
to  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  their  rulers  had  put  to 
death,  but  who  by  the  ppwer  of  God  was  raised  again 
to  life ;  of  which  the  apostles  were  eyewitnesses,  and 
the  truth  of  their  testimony  was  confirmed  by  the 
miraculous  gifts  and  powers  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This 
was  the  great  point  in  their  reasonings  with  the  Jews — 
to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  person  promised  ;  for  which 
they  made  their  appeals  to  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  did  it  with  great  success. 

At  Thessalonica,  where  was  a  synagogue  of  the  Jews, 
St.  Paul  "  went  in  unto  them,  as  his  manner  was,  and 
three  Sabbath  days  reasoned  with  them  out  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, opening  and  alleging,  that  Christ  must  needs 
have  suffered,  and  risen  again  from  the  dead,  and  that 
this  Jesus  whom  I  preach  unto  you,  is  Christ.'"  At 
Damascus,  he  "  confounded  the  Jews  which  dwelt  there, 
proving  that  this  is  the  very  Christ.""  So,  in  the 
synagogue  at  Beraea,  he  reasoned  with  them  out  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  and  it  is  said  in  commendation  of  the  Jews 
there,  that  "  they  received  the  word  with  all  readiness 
of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether 
these  things  were  so."''     Of  the  same  kind  was  his  dis- 


t  Acts  xviii.  1,  2,  3.         "  Acts  vs..  22.  *  Acts  xvii.  10,  U,  12. 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  29 

toufse  with  the  Jews  at  Antioch ;  "  Of  this  man's 
(David's)  seed,  hath  God  according  to  his  promise^ 
raised  unto  Israel,  a  Saviour,  Jesus  : — Because  they 
knew  him  not  (viz.  Christ,)  nor  yet  the  voices  of  the 
prophets  which  are  read  every  Sabbath  day,  they  have 
fulfilled  them  in  condemning  him.  The  promise  which 
was  made  unto  the  fathers,  God  hath  fulfilled  the  same 
to  us  their  children,  in  that  he  hath  raised  up  Jesus 
again  ;"'^ — according  to  what  was  prophesied  by  David 
and  Isaiah,  which  is  there  set  forth  at  large.  Thus  also 
he  defends  himself  before  Felix,  "  This  I  confess  unto 
thee,  that  after  the  way  which  they  call  heresy,  so 
w^orship  I  the  God  of  my  Fathers,  believing  all  things 
which  are  written  in  the  law  and  the  prophets  ;"^  and 
before  Festus  and  Agrippa  ;  "  I  am  judged  for  the  hope 
of  the  promise  made  of  God  unto  our  fathers.  Having 
obtained  help  of  God,  I  continue  unto  this  day ;  wit- 
nessing both  to  small  and  great,  saying  none  other 
things,  than  those  which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say 
should  come.  King  Agrippa,  believest  thou  the  pro- 
phets  ?  I  know  that  thou  believest ;"  to  which  Agrippa 
replied,  "Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian. "y 
And  when  he  was  at  Rome,  "  he  expounded  and  testi- 
fied to  the  Jews"  who  came  to  him,  "the  kingdom  of 
God  ;  persuading  them  concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of 
the  law  of  Moses,  and  out  of  the  prophets,  from  morning 
till  evening y^- 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  give  the  like  account  of  St. 
Peter,  who  o\\  the  day  of  Pentecost  preached  to  the 
Jews  upon  the  evidence  of  the  Scriptures,  with  such 
success,  that  "  great  numbers  gladly  received  his  word, 
and  the  same  day  there  were  added  to  them  about  three 
thousand  souls. "*  And  a  little  after,  upon  his  healing 
an  impotent  man  in  Solomon's  porch,  and  the  people's 
running  together  to  him,  we  have  another  declaration 
of  his  to  the  same  purpose  :  "  Those  things  which  Gon 
beforehand  had  showed  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets, 
that  Christ  should  suffer,  he  hath  so  fulfilled.  Whom 
the  heaven  must  receive,  until  the  time  of  restitution 


Acts  xiii.  16,  17.  "23.  27.  33,  33.  ^  Acts  xxiv.  14. 

Acts  xxvi.  6.  22.  27,  28.  ='  Acts  xxviii.  23. 

Acts  ii.  1—25. 

3* 


30  BISHOP  gibsonV 

of  all  things,  which  God  hath  spoken  hy  the  mouth  of 
all  his  holy  prophets,  since  the  world  began.  For 
Moses  truly  said  unto  the  fathers,  A  prophet  shall  the 
Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you :  Yea,  and  all  the 
prophets  from  Samuel,  and  those  that  follow  after,  as 
many  as  have  spoken,  have  likewise  foretold  of  these 
days."'^ — "And  many  which  heard  the  word,  believed  : 
and  the  number  of  the  men  was  about  six  thousand."'' 
Again,  in  his  speech  to  Cornelius,  and  his  company  ; — 
*'  Him  (Jesus)  God  raised  up — and  commanded  us  to 
preach  to  the  people,  and  to  testify,  that  it  is  he  which 
was  ordained  of  God,  to  be  the  judge  of  quick  and  dead ; 
to  him  give  all  the  prophets  witness.^^'^ 

The  same  appeal  to  the  Scriptures  is  made  by  St- 
Stephen  :  "  This  is  that  Moses  which  said  unto  the 
children  of  Israel,  A  Prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God 
raise  up  unto  you. — Which  of  the  prophets  have  not 
your  fathers  persecuted?  and  they  have  slain  them  which 
showed  hefore  of  the  coming  of  the  just  One,  of  whom 
you  have  been  now  the  betrayers  and  murderers.'"^ 
And  Philip  converts  the  treasurer  of  Queen  Candace, 
whom  he  found  reading  the  53d  chapter  of  Isaiah,  by 
"  beginning  at  that  Scripture^  and  preaching  to  him 
Jesus  ;"  upon  which  he  believed,  and  was  baptized.^ 
And  of  Apollos  it  is  said,  that  "  he  was  an  eloquent 
man,  and  mighty  in  the  Scriptures ;  and  that  he  mightily 
convinced  the  Jews,  and  that  publicly,  showing  hy  the 
Scriptures  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ."" 

This  then  was  the  reasoning  of  the  apostles,  and 
other  holy  men,  in  order  to  the  conversion  of  the  Jcavs  : 
and  it  is  no  other  than  what  St.  Paul  learnt  by  immediate 
revelation ;  for  he  tells  the  Corinthians  that  he  "  deli- 
vered to  them,  that  which  he  received,  how  that  Christ 
died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that 
he  was  buried,  and  that  he  rose  again  the  third  day, 
according  to  the  Scriptures." *»  And  the  other  apostles 
were  instructed  in  the  same  way  of  reasoning  by  our 
Saviour  himself,  who  a  little  before  his  passion  "  took 
unto  him  the  twelve,  and  said  unto  them,  Behold,  we 

b  Acts  iii.  18.  21,  22.  24,  25,  26.  «  Acts  iv.  4. 

d  Acts  X.  43.  «  Acts  vii.  37.  52. 

f  Acts  viii.  30,  38.  e  Acts  xviii.  24,  25. 
b  I  Cor.  XV.  3,  4. 


FIRST    PASTORAL   LETTER.  31 

go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  all  things  that  are  loritten  hy 
the  prophets  concerning  the  Son  of  man,  shall  he  accom- 
plished" '  But  then  "  they  understood  none  of  these 
things  ;"  ^  and  therefore,  after  his  resurrection,  *'  he 
opened  their  understanding ;"  ^  first,  of  two  of  them, 
whom  he  met  going  to  Emmaus ;  "  Oh  fools,  and  slow 
of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken  ! 
Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to 
enter  into  his  glory  ?  And  beginning  at  Moses,  and  all 
the  prophets,  he  expounded  unto  ihem  in  all  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  things  concerning  himself :''"''''  and  then  of  the 
eleven ; — "  These  are  the  words  which  I  spake  unto 
you,  while  I  was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must  he 
fulfilled  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in 
the  Prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms,  concerning  me.  Then 
opened  he  their  understandings,  that  they  might  under- 
stand the  Scriptures,  and  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is 
written,  and  thus  it  behoved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to 
rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day  ;  and  that  repentance 
and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name 
among  all  nations."" 

Such  frequent  appeals  to  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  plainly 
suppose  the  promise  of  a  Messiah  ;  and  the  success  they 
had,  notwithstanding  the  prejudices  the  Jews  were  under 
against  a  suffering  Messiah,  shows  the  propriety  and 
efficacy  of  this  argument  in  order  to  the  conviction  of 
that  people,  to  whom  the  promise  was  made,  and  whose 
earnest  desire  and  expectation  of  a  Deliverer  had  led 
them  of  course  to  be  familiarly  acquainted  with  the 
prophecies  concerning  him. 

But  because  the  evidence  arising  from  particular 
types  and  prophecies, °  is  now  by  length  of  time,  and 


i  Luke  xviii.  31.  ^  Luke  xviii.  34. 

'  Luke  xxiv.  45.  '"  Luke  xxiv.  25,  26,  27. 

"  Luke  xxiv.  44,  45,  4G,  47. 

'J  [The  cautious  expressions  of  this  paragraph  are  worthy  of  remark. 
While  the  author  avoids  admitting  too  much  as  to  the  difficulty  even  of 
'^^ particular  types  and  prophecies,"  (respecting  the  exact  application 
and  fulfilment  of  which  some  difficulties  may  undoubtedly  arise,)  he 
judiciously  leaves  wholly  out  of  question  the  general  argument  from 
type  and  prophecy,  viz.  the  evidence  aflbrded  by  the  existence,  and 
mutual  relations  between  the  parts,  of  the  collective  masses  of  typical 


32  BISHOP    GIBSON*S 

distance  of  place,  and  change  of  customs,  becornc 
obscure  and  difficult  to  the  generality  of  people,  and 
cannot  be  thoroughly  discussed  without  a  great  variety 
of  knowledge  concerning  the  ancient  Jewish  customs, 
and  the  authority  of  their  writings,  and  the  exact  calcu- 
lations of  time, — all  which  require  much  study,  and 
leave  room  to  ill-minded  men  to  dispute  and  cavil,  and 
to  perplex  readers  who  are  unacquainted  with  the 
learning  and  history  of  former  ages, — for  these  reasons, 
the  promoters  of  infidelity  might  well  hope  to  find  their 
account  in  resting  the  whole  evidence  of  Christianity 
upon  the  types  and  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
partly  to  furnish  wicked  minds  with  objections,  and  fill 
weak  minds  with  doubts  ;  and  partly  to  draw  and  divert 
mankind  from  attending  to  the  more  plain,  strong,  and 
direct  evidences  of  the  truth  of  Christianity. 

To  avoid  this  snare,  fix  your  mind  steadfastly  upon 
the  testimony  o(  facts  which  are  undeniable,  and  upon 
consequences  flowing  from  them,  which  are  plain  and 
obvious  to  the  meanest  capacities. 

3.  As  to  the  FACTS  contained  in  the  New  Testament; 
they  have  the  fullest  testimony,  that  an}- ancient  nistory 
can  have  : — they  are  transmitted  to  us  by  persons  who 
were  eyewitnesses  of  them,  or  at  least  contemporary 
with  those  that  were  so,  of  whom  they  had  diligently 
inquired ;  persons,  to  whom  no  fraud,  insincerity,  or 
immorality  of  any  kind,  was  ever  objected  ;  so  far  from 
being  suspected  of  design  or  contrivance,  that  they 
were  despised  both  by  Jew  and  Gentile,  as  simple  and 
ignorant  men ;  not  moved  by  any  prospect  of  riches, 
honors,  or  other  temporal  advantage,  but  on  the  con- 
trary exposed  to  continual  persecutions  upon  the  single 
account  of  their  giving  testimony  to  those  facts,  in 
which,  notwithstanding,  they  persevered  to  the  last,  and 
were  ready  to  seal  the  truth  of  their  testimony  with  their 
blood,  as  we  are  assured  several  of  them  did.  Nor  can 
there  be  the  least  doubt  whether  those  were  the  verv 


events  and  institutions,  and  prophecy.  Type  and  prophecVj  regarded 
(as  HuRD,  HoRSLEY,  and  Davison,  have  ably  shown  that  we  must 
regard  them)  as  one  grand  whole — a  body  of  evidence  comprising 
within  itself  every  shade  of  conviction  and  variety  of  form,  constitute 
an  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity  perfectly  irrefragable.] 


FIRST    PASTORAL    LETTER.  33 

persons  who  recorded  the  facts  as  conveyed  to  us  : 
since  we  find  the  books  by  which  they  have  been  con- 
veyed expressly  ascribed  to  them,  and  frequently  cited 
under  their  names  by  the  writers  of  the  very  next  age, 
and  of  every  age  since  ;  and  not  only  received  as  such 
by  the  several  Christian  Churches,  but  admitted  both  by 
Jews  and  Heathens  in  their  writings  against  Christianity. 
We  also  find,  by  the  numerous  passages  which  they  cite 
from  them,  and  by  the  early  translations  of  the  books 
themselves  into  several  languages,  that  they  are  the 
same  with  those  we  now  have ;  and  are  moreover 
assured,  that  the  original  writings  of  several  of  them 
were  preserved  for  some  ages,  and  frequently  appealed 
to  by  the  Christians  in  their  disputes  with  heretics. 
These  are  the  known  evidences,  to  prove  that  any 
ancient  book,  whether  sacred  or  profane,  was  really 
written  by  the  person  whose  name  it  bears  ;  and  it 
appears  by  what  has  been  said,  that  they  may  be  applied 
with  greater  strictness  and  justice  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, than  to  any  other  ancient  writing  whatsoever  ;p 
{Kirticularly  in  the  point  of  so  many  persons  laying 
down  their  lives,  in  testimony  of  the  truth  of  the  doc- 
trines and  facts  contained  in  them. 

4.  As  to  the  consequences  from  those  facts,  and  the 
application  of  them  in  order  to  satisfy  yourselves  con- 
cerning the  truth  of  Christianity,  begin  with  the  ge- 
neral EXPECTATION  there  was  of  a  Messiah,  or  great 
Prophet  and  Deliverer,  about  the  time  that  our  Saviour 
came.  And  for  the  proof  of  this,  you  need  go  no  further 
than  the  writings  of  the  evangelists.  It  is  said  of  Simeon, 
a  just  and  devout  man,  that  he  was  "  waiting  for  the 
consolation  of  Israel. "•i  Anna  the  prophetess  "  spake 
of  Jesus  to  all  them  that  looked  for  redemption  in  Jeru- 
salem."'" Upon  the  appearing  of  John  the  Baptist, 
"  the  people  were  in  expectation^  and  all  men  mused  in 


p  [This  is  very  fully  shown  in  the  able  concluding  chapter  of  Tay- 
lor's History  of  the  Transmission  of  Ancient  Books  to  Modern 
Times — a  work  which  should  be  read  by  every  man  desirous  of  know- 
ing the  unassailable  stability  of  the  foundation  on  which  he  builds  his 
faith — a  foundation  even  more  sure  than  that  of  any  portion  of  human 
history  or  transmitted  knowledge.] 

«i  Luke  ii.  25.  »■  Luke  ii.  38. 


34  BISHOP  Gibson's 

their  hearts,  whether  he  was  the  Christ  or  not.'^' 
The  message  from  John  to  Christ  was,  "Art  thou  he 
that  should  come  ?"'  Art  thou  that  Prophet  ?  Andrew 
tells  his  brother,  "We  hdive  found  the  Messiah,  i.  e.  the 
Christ.""  The  people,  seeing  the  miracle  of  the 
loaves,  say,  "  This  is  of  a  truth,  that  Prophet  that  should 
come  into  the  world."''  At  another  time,  it  is  said  by 
the  people,  "  Of  a  truth,  this  is  the  Prophet :  this  is  the 
Christ. "^^  The  woman  of  Samaria  said,  "  I  know  that 
Messiah  cometh,  which  is  called  Christ."^  The  people 
say,  "  Do  the  rulers  know  indeed  that  this  is  the  very 
Christ  ?"y  The  Jews  come  about  Jesus  and  ask  him, 
"How  long  dost  thou  make  us  to  doubt  ?  If  thou  be 
the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly."^  Martha  saith  to  Jesus, 
"  I  believe  that  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
which  should  come  into  the  world. "^  And  the  high- 
priest  adjures  him  to  declare,  "Whether  he  was  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God."*' 

These  are  facts,  which  plainly  show  that  there  was 
among  the  Jews  at  that  time  a  general  expectation  of 
a  Messiah  ;  and  this  expectation  could  arise  from  no- 
thing but  a  known  and  general  agreement  among  them, 
that  that  was  the  time  which  their  prophets  had  fixed 
for  his  coming.  And  even  the  evasion  of  the  modern 
Jews,  that  two  Messiahs  were  foretold,  one  suffering, 
and  the  other  triumphant,  is  an  argument  from  tlie  mouth 
of  an  adversary,  that  a  Messiah  which  was  foretold  by 
their  prophets,  is  already  come  ;  inasmuch  as  they  find 
it  impossible  to  apply  many  passages  which  their  own 
writers  before  the  coming  of  Christ  expressly  applied 
to  the  Messiah,  to  any  person  but  a  Messiah  in  a  low 
and  suffering  condition. 

5.  But  let  your  chief  regard  and  attention  be  to  the 
testimony  of  miracles  ;  those  mighty  works  which 
were  wrought  by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  For  this  is 
in  its  nature  a  more  sure,  plain  and  easy  proof;  which 
the  meanest  capacities  are  capable  of  apprehending  and 

s  Luke  iii.  15.  '  Matthew  xi.  3. 

"  John  i.  41.  ^  John  v.  14. 

"  John  vii.  40,  41.  ^  John  iv.  25. 

y  John  vii.  26.  j  John  x.  24. 

*  John  xi.  27.  ^  Matthew  xxvi.  63. 


FIRST    PASTORAL    LETTER.  85 

entering  into  ;  and  which  therefore  was  evidently  in- 
tended to  be  the  principal  means  of  convincing  all 
mankind  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  To  deny  that  our 
Saviour  wrought  many  and  great  miracles,  on  all  occa- 
sions, during  the  whole  course  of  his  ministry,  before 
multitudes  of  people,  in  the  presence  of  enemies  as  well 
as  friends,  with  a  bare  word,  and  with  real  and  perma- 
nent effects,  is  to  deny  the  evidence  of  sense,  and  to 
destroy  at  once  the  truth  of  all  history  whatsoever  ; 
and  in  this  particular  it  is  to  deny  that  which  the 
bitterest  enemies  of  Christianity  of  old  had  not  the 
hardiness  to  deny.  To  say,  (as  the  Jews  did,)  that  those 
miracles  were  wrought  by  the  assistance  of  evil  spirits, 
is  to  fall  into  the  absurdities  with  which  our  Saviour 
justly  charges  them,  namely, —  that  Satan  casts  out 
Satan  ; — that  a  person  whose  life  was  most  holy,  and 
his  doctrine  divine,  pure,  and  heavenly,  was  all  the 
while  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  devil  ;— and  that  a 
preacher  of  righteousness,  justice,  mercy,  charity,  truth, 
meekness,  patience,  and  peace,  could  be  enabled  to 
work  miracles  by  any  power,  but  what  was  divine. 

And  therefore  we  find  that  Christ  himself  often  ap- 
peals to  his  works,  or  the  miracles  wrought  by  him,  as 
full  and  convincing  testimonies  of  his  coming  from  God, 
For  instance,  it  is  said  of  John  the  Baptist,  that  he 
wrought  no  miracles  ;  upon  which  our  Saviour  argues 
thus  with  the  Jews  ;  "  I  have  greater  witness  than  that 
of  John  ;  for  the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me 
to  finish,  the  same  works  that  I  do,  bear  witness  of  me 
that  the  Father  hath  sent  me."°  At  another  time,  when 
the  Jews  came  about  him  and  said,  "  How  long  dost 
thou  make  us  to  doubt  ?  If  thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us 
plainly ;"  his  answer  was,  "  I  told  you  and  ye  believed 
not  ;  the  works  that  I  do  in  my  Father's  name,  they 
bear  witness  of  me  ;"^  and  again  to  the  same  effect,  "  If 
I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father  believe  me  not ;  but 
if  I  clo,  though  ye  believe  not  me,  believe  the  VJorks  ;^^'' 
and  in  another  place,  '^  Believe  me  for  the  very  works^ 
gake,"*"     And  a  little  before  his  ascension,  he  tells  hi^ 


p  John  V,  36,  ^  John  x.  24.  25, 

sjohnx.  37,  fjohoxiv,  IL 


86  BISHOP  Gibson's 

disciples,  "  Ye  shall  receive  'power ^^  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  come  upon  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses 
unto  me  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria, 
and  to  the  utmost  parts  of  the  earth.'"'  Agreeably  to 
which  St.  Mark  tells  us,  that  "  they  went  forth,  and 
preached  every  where  ;  the  Lord  worMng  with  them, 
and  confirming  the  word  with  signs  following."'  And 
it  is  said  in  the  Acts,  that  "  the  Lord  gave  testirnony 
unto  the  word  of  his  grace,  (i.  e.  the  Gospel)  and 
granted  signs  and  iconders  to  he  done  by  their  hands  :'"' 
— the  miracles  they  w^ere  enabled  to  work,  were  the 
proper  and  standing  evidences  of  the  truth  of  their 
doctrine. 

Nor  does  Christ  only  appeal  to  his  w^orks,  and  ena- 
ble his  apostles  to  do  signs  and  wonders  in  order  to  the 
propagation  of  the  Gospel ;  but  he  grounds  the  great 
guilt  of  the  Jews  Mho  rejected  him,  on  their  having  seen 
his  works,  and  yet  not  been  convinced  by  them  ;  "If 
I  had  not  done  among  them  the  works  which  none  other 
man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin."^  And  elsewhere  he 
"  upbraids  the  cities  wherein  most  of  his  mighty  works 
were  done,  because  they  repented  not.""'  And  the 
apostle,  to  the  Hebrews,  reasons  thus  :  "  How  shall  we 
escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation,  which  at  the 
first  began  to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  w^as  con- 
firmed unto  us  by  them  that  heard  him  ;  God  also 
bearing  them  witjiess,  both  with  sigiis  and  wonders, 
and  with  divers  miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  ?""  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  told  by  St. 
John,  that  when  Christ  w'as  in  Jerusalem,  at  the 
passover,  many  believed  in  his  name,  "  when  they  saw 
the  miracles  which  he  did."°  And  Nicodemus,  a  ruler 
of  the  Jews,  addresses  himself  thus  to  Christ  ;"  "  We 
knoAv  that  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God  ;  for  no 
man  can  do  the  miracles  that  thou  doest,  except  God 

=  [The  word  "  power"  (Swams^  here,  as  in  many  other  passages 
(compare  Luke  i.  35,  xxiv.  49.  Acts,  x,  38.  1  Cor.  ii.  4.)  signifies 
'  miraculous  manifestation  of  the  power  of  God,  by  the  extraordinary 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.'] 

^  Acts  i.  8.  i  Mark  xvi.  20. 

k  Acts  xiv.  3.  1  John  xv.  2. 

•»  Matt.  xi.  20.  n  Heb.  ii.  3. 

•  John  ii.  23. 


FIRST    PASTORAL    LETTER.  37 

be  with  him."p  Again,  "  Many  of  the  people  believed 
on  him,  and  said,  when  Christ  cometh  will  he  do  more 
miracles  than  these  which  this  man  hath  done  ?"q 
And  in  another  place,  the  multitude  who  were  fed  with 
the  loaves,  when  they  had  seen  the  miracles  which 
Jestjs  did,  said,  "  This  is  of  a  truth  that  prophet  which 
should  come  into  the  world."'  And  when  the  chief 
priests  and  Pharisees  had  assembled  a  council  to  con- 
sider what  they  should  do,  their  reasoning  was  this 
"  What  do  we  ?  for  this  man  doth  many  miracles.  If 
we  let  him  thus  alone,  all  men  will  believe  on  him."* 
Upon  which,  St.  Peter  might  well  say,  "Ye  men  of 
Israel,  hear  these  words  :  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man 
approved  of  God  among  you,  by  miracles,  and  wonders, 
and  signs,  which  God  did  by  him  in  the  midst  of  you, 
as  ye  yourselves  also  know.'"- 

These  appeals  which  our  Saviour  makes  to  his  mira- 
cles, together  with  the  immediate  convictions  wrought  by 
them,  are  joint  testimonies  of  the  propriety  and  efficacy 
of  the  argument  drawn  from  thence.  And  since  mira- 
cles could  be  no  testimony  at  all,  if  they  were  not  true 
and  real;  those  appeals  and  convictions  are  of  them- 
selves sufficient  to  show  the  vanity  and  wildness  of  a 
late  attempt,"  to  prove  that  our  Saviour's  miracles  were 
merely  allegorical ;  in  which  it  is  hard  to  persuade  one's 
self,  that  the  author,  if  in  his  right  mind,  can  be  serious 
and  in  earnest.  But  since  the  notion  he  has  vented 
is  industriously  made  use  of  by  skeptics  and  infidels  to 
stagger  and  perplex  unwary  and  ignorant  people,  v/ho 
easily  see  that  if  Christ  wrought  no  real  miracles, 
Christianity  has  no  real  support ; — for  their  sakes,  and 
on  no  other  account,  I  will  proceed  to  show  the  absurd- 
ity of  that  notion,  without  any  design  to  convince  the 
author  himself,  who  either  is  not  in  earnest,  or  not  ca- 
pable of  conviction. 

What  he  undertakes  to  prove,  is,  that  the  miracles  of 
our  Saviour  as  we  find  them  in  the  evangelists — however 

p  John  iii.  2.  b  John  vii.  31. 

r  John  vi,  14.  s  John  xi.  47,  48. 

t  Acts  ii.  22. 

^  [That  of  WooLSTON,  in  the  work  already  specified.] 
Vol.  v.— 4 


38  BISHOP  Gibson's 

related  by  them  as  historical  truths,  and  without  the 
least  intimation  that  they  are  not  to  be  understood  lite- 
rally— Avere  not  real,  but  merely  allegorical ;  and  that 
ihey  are  to  be  interpreted,  not  in  the  literal,  but  only 
in  mystical  senses  ; — which  strange  and  enthusiastic 
scheme  he  has  pursued  throughout  in  a  most  profane 
and  ludicrous  manner.  His  pretence  is,  that  the  fathers 
considered  our  Saviour's  miracles  in  the  same  allego- 
rical way  that  he  does  ;  that  is,  as  merely  allegorical, 
and  exclusive  of  the  letter — an  assertion  so  notoriously 
false,  that  it  requires  the  greatest  charity  to  think  that 
he  himself  did  not  know  it  to  be  so.  Some  of  the 
fathers,  indeed,  in  their  explications  of  Scripture  to  the 
people,  of  which  their  serm^ons  in  those  days  chiefly 
consisted,  being  willing  to  use  all  means  and  to  omit  no 
opportunities  of  exciting  in  ihem  a  spirit  of  piety  and 
devotion,  did  not  confine  themselves  to  the  bare  letter, 
but  endeavored  upon  the  foundation  of  the  letter  to  raise 
spiritual  meanings,  and  to  allegorize  upon  them  by  way 
of  moral  application  ;  and  this,  not  only  upon  the  mi- 
racles of  our  Saviour,  but  upon  almost  all  the  historical 
facts  which  are  recorded  either  in  the  Old  or  New  Tes- 
tament :  and  the  same  was  also  a  received  method  of 
instruction  among  the  Jews.  But  would  he  have  us 
suppose,  that  the  primitive  fathers  intended  to  deny  the 
literal  facts  of  our  Saviour's  miracles,  or  make  them 
merely  allegorical,  when  he  has  not  produced  any  one  au- 
thority out  of  the  whole  body  of  the  fathers  of  the  first 
three  hundred  years  after  Christ,  except  Origen,  that 
can  be  pretended  to  coimtenance  his  excluding  the  lite- 
ral sense  ?  He  has  indeed  heaped  together  a  number 
of  quotations,  chiefly  out  of  the  fiithers  and  writers  of 
the  fourth,  iifth,  and  following  centuries  :  but  many  of 
the  passages  he  quotes  either  expressly  affirm,  or  evi- 
dently suppose,  the  literal  trutli  of  our  Saviour's  mira- 
cles ;  and  others  of  them  tell  us,  that  we  must  not  rest 
in  the  letter,  but  endeavor  to  find  out  mystical  and  spi- 
ritual meanings.  Now,  as  such  quotations  are  far  from 
denying  the  truth  of  our  Saviour's  miracles  according 
to  the  letter,  they  can  be  no  manner  of  service  to  his 
cause  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  hard  to  say  for  what  end 
he  produced  them,  unless  it  was  to  amuse  his  English 
readers  with  the  appearance  of  a  great  variety  of  autho- 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  39 

vities,  which  he  must  needs  see  were  nothing  to  his 
purpose. 

And  as  to  Origen  himself,  though  he  went  further 
into  the  allegorical  way  than  any  other,  yet  so  far  was 
he  from  not  believing  and  allowing  our  Saviour's  mira- 
cles in  the  literal  sense,  that  in  many  parts  of  his  book 
Against  Cclsus,  which  consists  not  of  popular  dis- 
courses, but  of  just  and  sober  reasonings,  he  directly 
argues  from  them  in  defence  of  Christianity. — In  an- 
swer to  Celsus'  boastings  of  the  precepts  and  disci- 
pline of  the  Greeks,  he  urges,  '  that  Christianity  has  a 
more  divine  demonstration,  which  the  apostle  calls  the 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  pov/er :  and  he  ex- 
plains 'power'  to  be  the  miracles  of  Christ;  which,  says 
he,  we  believe  to  have  been  wrought,  as  from,  many 
other  arguments,  so  particularly  from  this,  that  the  foot- 
steps of  the  same  power  do  still  appear.'^ — In  several 
places  he  takes  notice  of  Celsus'  ascribing  the  miracles 
of  our  Saviour  to  art  magic  ;'''  and  having  particularly 
mentioned  the  restoring  of  lunatics,  casting  out  devils, 
and  curing  diseases,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  he  adds,  that 
Celsus,  not  being  able  to  resist  the  evidences  arising 
from  the  wonderful  works  wrought  by  him,  of  which 
those  he  named  were  a  few  out  of  many,  ascribed  them 
to  art  magic  ;  and  then  he  shows  at  large  the  absurd- 
ity of  that  supposition. '^  He  takes  notice,  that  both 
Moses  and  Jesus  did  wonderful  works,  and  such  as  ex- 
ceeded human  power, y  and  then  expostulates  with  the 
Jews  for  believing  the  things  which  Moses  wrought, 
though  recorded  singly  by  himself,  and  rejecting  the 
miracles  of  Christ,  upon  the  testimony  of  his  disciples; 
while  the  Christians,  as  he  adds,  were  the  more  ready 
to  believe  the  miracles  of  Christ  as  recorded  by  his  dis- 
ciples, on  account  of  the  prophecy  of  Moses  concerning 
him. — He  argues  for  the  reality  of  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  upon  our  Saviour,  from  the  miracles 
which  he  wrought,  and  mentions  the  casting  out  devils, 
and  the  curing  diseases,  in  his  own  time,  as  one  argu- 


V  Orig.  Cont.  Cels.  Lib.  I.  p.  5.  ed.  Spenc. 

^  Id.  ibid. ;  Lib.  L  p.  7.  30.  34.  53. 

3C  Lib.  L  p.  53.  7  Lib.  I.  p.  34, 


40  BISHOP  Gibson's 

ment  of  the  truth  of  those  miracles.^ — In  proof  that 
Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  he  urges  his  healing  the 
lame  and  the  blind,  according  to  the  prophecy  concern- 
ing him ;  and  then  proceeds  to  show  the  reality  of 
what  the  evangelists  relate  concerning  his  raising  per- 
sons from  the  dead,  and  why  he  raised  no  more ;  and 
adds,  that  his  miracles  were  intended,  not  only  to  be 
figures,  or  symbols,  but  also  the  means  of  converting 
multitudes  to  the  Christian  faith ;  thereby  plainly  ac- 
knowledging the  literal  as  well  as  the  allegorical  mean- 
ing.^— He  proves  the  truth  of  Christ's  miracles,  from 
others  attempting  to  work  the  like  ;  and  makes  the 
same  difference  between  their  works  and  Christ's,  that 
there  was  between  the  miracles  of  Moses  and  the  magi- 
cians, and  says,  that  a  Jew  who  defends  the  miracles  of 
Moses,  is  as  perverse  as  the  Egyptians  if  he  rejects 
those  of  Christ.^ — He  speaks  of  the  miracles  of  Moses 
and  Christ,  as  converting  whole  nations  ;  and  observes 
that  Christ  was  to  overthrow  the  customs  in  which  the 
people  had  been  educated,  and  to  deal  with  a  nation  that 
had  been  taught  to  require  signs  and  wonders,  and  there- 
fore had  at  least  as  great  need  to  show  them,  in  order  to 
gain  belief,  as  Moses,  who  had  not  those  difficulties  to 
overcome.'^ — He  says,  that  whoever  should  embrace  the 
Christian  religion,  was  required  by  Christ  and  his  dis- 
ciples to  believe  his  divinity  and  miracles.^ — He  speaks 
of  the  wonderful  works  of  Christ  (howsoever  disbelieved 
by  Celsus)  as  the  effects  of  a  divine  power. ^  And,  as 
to  the  apostles,  he  shows  how  absurd  it  would  have 
been  in  them  to  attempt  the  introducing  and  establish- 
ing a  new  doctrine  in  the  world,  without  the  help  of 
miracles. f 

Judge  now,  whether  Origen  ought  to  be  produced 
as  one  who  did  not  believe  the  miracles  of  Christ, 
according  to  the  literal  sense,  and  as  full  and  f  roper 
testimonies  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  and 
let  this  instance  convince  you,  how  unsafe  it  is  to  take 
the  opinion  of  the  fathers,  or  of  any  writers,  from  par- 
ticular passages  and  expressions  which  may  be  picked 


»  Lib.  I.  p.  34.  a  Lib.  11.  p.  87,  88. 

^  Lib.  IL  p.  91,  92.  «  Lib.  IL  p.  91,  92. 

4  Lib.  III.  p.  128.  e  Lib.  VII.  p.  368.  ^  Lib.  I.  p.  30.  34. 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  41 

out  of  them,  without  attending  to  the  occasions  upon 
which  they  were  written,  or  comparing  them  with  the 
other  works  of  the  same  authors — a  liberty,  which  has 
been  much  used  of  late  ;  and,  if  allowed,  would  put  it  in 
the  power  of  designing  men  to  make  almost  any  writer 
speak  Avhat  opinion  they  please. 

At  the  same  time  it  must  be  owned,  that  Origen, 
and  some  others,  indulged  themselves  further  in  the 
allegorical  way  than  was  consistent  with  sober  reason- 
ing and  sound  judgment ;  for  which  he,  in  particular, 
was  greatly  blamed,  both  in  his  own  time,  and  by  many 
of  the  fathers  of  the  succeeding  ages.^  But  their  inten- 
tions were  certainly  pious :  and  it  could  not  be  imagined 
that  there  ever  would  be  such  a  man  in  the  world,  who 
should  make  it  a  question  whether  any  father  believed 
the  facts  literally  understood,  who  in  his  defence  of  the 
Christian  religion  against  .Tews  and  Heathens,  appealed 
to  the  miracles  of  our  Saviour  in  their  plain  and  literal 
sense,  as  the  great  evidence  of  his  being  sent  from  God^. 
And  as  they  practised  the  allegorical  method,  not  only 
in  the  point  of  miracles,  but  in  almost  all  the  historical 
parts  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  they  are  as  good 
authorities  for  entirely  destroying  the  whole  historical 
truth  of  both,  as  that  of  miracles. 

Though  therefore  it  were  granted,  that  all  the  ancient 
fathers  of  the  Church  had  unanimously  indulged  them- 
selves, more  or  less,  in  the  allegorical  meanings ;  it 
would  not  at  all  help  this  writer,  unless  he  could  make 
it  clear,  that  they  also  denied  the  literal  meaning :  and 
to  say  that  any  one  who  urged  the  miracles  of  our 
Saviour  as  the  great  vindication  of  Christianity,  could 
at  the  same  time  deny  the  literal  sense  of  them,  is  a  flat 
contradiction ;  since,  as  I  observed  before,  miracles 
can  be  no  evidence  at  all  in  any  other  meaning,  but  the 
literal.  Much  less  will  he  lind  any  thing  in  the  fathers 
to  countenance  that  ludicrous  and  blasphemous  way,  in 
which  he  has  treated  Christ  and  his  miracles. 

The  truth  is,  the  supposition  of  an  allegorical  and 
mystical  meaning,  exclusive  of  the  literal,  carries  in  it 
so  many  strange  absurdities,  that  nothing  could  lead 
any  one  into  it,  but  either  great  weakness  of  under-* 


HuET,  Origeniana,  p.  170. 


42  6ISH0P  Gibson's 

standing,  or  great  disorder  of  mind,  or  very  strong 
prejudices  against  the  Christian  religion.  For  instance ; 
— that  when  Christ  appealed  to  his  works,  as  he  often 
did,  to  prove  his  divine  mission,  he  meant  only  allego- 
rical and  not  real  works  ; — that  when  the  people  asked 
one  another,  "  whether  the  Messiah,  when  he  came, 
would  do  greater  works  than  these  ?"  they  did  not  mean 
real,  but  only  imaginary  works  ; — that  when  Christ 
bade  the  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist  "  tell  their  master 
what  cures  they  had  seen  him  work,"  in  order  to  satisfy 
him  that  he  was  the  Messiah  as  working  the  same 
cures  Avhich  the  prophets  had  foretold  the  Messiah 
should  work,  neither  the  prophets  nor  Christ  meant 
real  cures  ; — that  the  great  number  of  Jews  who  were 
converted  upon  seeing  Christ  heal  the  sick,  and  raise 
to  life  those  who  had  been  dead,  did  not  see  them  first 
to  be  sick  or  dead,  and  then  alive  or  whole  again,  and 
so  had  no  real  ground  for  their  conversion  ; — that  when 
the  multitudes  came  to  be  healed,  upon  their  having 
seen  the  miraculous  cures  that  Christ  had  wrought 
upon  others,  they  had  really  seen  nothing,  to  induce 
and  encourage  them  to  come  to  him ; — that  when  the 
leper  came  back  to  thank  our  Saviour,  he  was  not 
really  healed,  but  came  to  return  thanks  for  nothing ; 
— that  when  the  people  were  amazed  to  see  the  miracles 
he  did,  they  were  amazed  at  nothing ; — that  when  the 
Jews  feared  the  success  of  his  miracles,  and  called  a 
council  to  prevent  it,  they  were  only  afaid  of  shadows, 
and  consulted  about  nothing ; — that  when  they  perse- 
cuted him  and  sought  to  slay  him,  for  healing  a  lame 
man  on  the  Sabbath  day,  he  had  really  wrought  no 
cure ; — that  when  the  people  intended  to  make  him  a 
king,  on  account  of  his  extraordinary  works,  they  had 
seen  no  works,  but  what  any  other  man  might  have 
done  ; — that  when  it  was  urged  by  the  Jews,  that  he 
wrought  miracles  by  the  help  of  Beelzebub,  any  thing 
could  have  driven  them  to  that  shift,  but  that  they  knew 
the  facts  themselves  to  be  real  and  undeniable ; — that 
when  the  people  were  "  filled  with  wonder  and  amaze- 
ment'' at  the  cure  of  the  lame  man  which  was  wrought 
by  St.  Peter,  they  did  not  see  him  leaping  and  walking, 
who  before  was  laid  daily  at  the  gate  of  the  temple  to  ask 
alms, — and  when  the  council  could  say  nothing  against 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  43 

it,  nor  could  deny  that  "  a  notable  miracle  had  been 
done,"  710  such  thing  as  a  miracle  had  been  wrought, 
but  both  council  and  people  were  deceived  ; — that  when 
Simon  Magus  desired  to  purchase  the  power  of  bestow- 
ing the  Holy  Ghost,  he  meant  to  purchase  no  power 
but  what  he  had  before  ; — that  when  the  people  of 
Lystra  accounted  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  be  gods,  they 
saw  nothing  in  them  more  than  common  men ; — that 
when  the  people  out  of  every  nation  "  were  filled  with 
wonder,  to  hear  the  apostles  speak  every  one  in  their 
own  proper  language,"  there  was  really  nothing  to  be 
wondered  at ; — that  the  conversions  made  in  all  nations 
by  the  apostles,  of  great  as  well  as  small,  learned  as 
well  as  unlearned,  were  all  made  by  them  without  giv- 
ing any  real  testimony  of  a  divine  mission  ; — that  when 
the  writers  of  the  Church  asserted  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity upon  the  evidence  of  the  miracles  wrought  by 
our  Saviour  and  his  apostles,  the  Jews  and  Heathens, 
against  whom  they  wrote,  if  they  could  have  called  in 
question  the  reality  of  those  miracles,  would  not  have 
fixed  their  foot  there,  but  put  themselves  to  the  diffi- 
culty of  inventing  other  causes  than  a  divine  power  to 
which  they  might  ascribe  them  : — in  a  word,  that  the 
whole  history  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  which 
is  all  equally  capable  of  being  run  into  allegory  and 
mystery  by  enthusiastical  heads,  has  no  meaning  at  all, 
but  such  as  every  one  shall  think  fit  to  allegorize  it  into, 
by  the  mere  strength  of  fancy  and  imagination. 

These  are  some  of  the  shocking  absurdities,  which 
attend  that  wild  imagination  of  miracles  who]}}'  mystical 
and  allegorical,  and  without  a  literal  meaning. — And  as 
to  the  blasphemous  manner  in  which  a  late  writer  has 
taken  the  liberty  to  treat  our  Saviour's  miracles  and 
the  Author  of  them  ;  though  I  am  far  from  contending, 
that  the  grounds  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  the  doc- 
trines of  it,  may  not  be  discussed  at  all  times,  in  a  calm, 
decent,  and  serious  way  (on  the  contrary,  I  am  very 
sure,  that  the  more  fully  they  are  discussed,  the  more 
firmly  they  will  stand,)  yet  I  cannot  but  think  it  the  duty 
of  the  civil  magistrate  at  all  times,  to  take  care  that 
religion  be  not  treated  either  in  a  ludicrous,  or  a  re- 
proachful manner,  and  efi^ectually^to  discourage  such 
books  and  writings,  as  strike  equally  at  the  foundation 


44  BISHOP  Gibson's 

of  all  religion,  and  of  truth,  virtue,  seriousness,  and 
good  manners  ;  and  by  consequence  at  the  foundation 
of  civil  society. 

6.  But  to  return.  To  the  miracles  of  our  Saviour, 
we  m^y  well  add,  as  further  testimonies  of  a  divine 
power,  his  predictions  of  many  events,  which  were 
afterwards  punctually  fulfilled  ; — that  he  should  suffer 
at  Jerusalem  ;»>  that  there  he  should  be  betrayed  unto  the 
chief  priests,  and  unto  the  scribes,  who  would  condemn 
him  to  death,  and  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles  to  be  mock- 
ed, and  scourged  ;'  that  Judas  was  the  person  who  would 
betray  him  ;'^  that  the  other  disciples  would  forsake  him ;' 
that,  particularly,  Peter  would  deny  him  thrice;"^  that, 
as  to  the  manner  of  his  death,  it  should  be  crucifixion;" 
and  that  he  would  rise  again  the  third  day.°  To  which 
we  may  add,  his  foretelling  the  manner  of  St.  Peter's 
death,  and  that  St.  John  should  live  to  see  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem:"?  together  with  the  persecutions 
which  should  befall  the  apostles  after  his  death, "^  and 
the  mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  comfort  and  enlighten 
them,  and  to  enable  them,  effectually  to  preach  and  pro- 
pagate the  Gospel. "^ 

But  most  remarkable  to  this  purpose,  is  his  foretelling 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  whole  Jewish 
nation,  with  the  several  circumstances  of  it:  as,  the 
time  of  its  coming;  the  destroying  of  the  city;  the 
demolishing  of  the  temple;  the  judgments  upon  the 
nation  in  general ;  and  their  final  dispersion : — all 
which  were  distinctly  foretold  by  Christ;  and  are  at- 
tested by  JosEPHus  (a  historian  of  their  own  nation 
who  lived  at  the  time)  to  have  punctually  come  to  pass, 
according  to  the  predictions. 

As  to  the  time  : — our  Saviour  having  enumerated  the 
dismal  calamities  that  were  coming  upon  the  Jews, 
declares,  *'  That  that  generation  should  not  pass,  until 


h  Luke  xiii.  33,  34.— Matt.  xiv.  2L  i  Matt.  xx.  18,  19. 

^  Matt.  xxvi.  25.  '  Matt.  xxvi.  13. 

"'  Mark  xiv.  30.  n  Matt.  xx.  19. 

«>  Matt.  xvi.  21.  P  John  xxi.  22. 

•3  Matt.  X.  17,  18,  19,  20.  r  Acts  i.  8.— Luke  xxi.  12,  14. 


FIRST    PASTORAL    LETTER.  45 

all  these  things  were  fulfilled  ;"'  and  he  supposes,  that 
some  at  least  of  those  to  whom  he  spake  when  he  enu- 
merated the  signs  of  their  coming,  should  be  then  alive  ; 
"  Ye,  when  ye  shall  see  all  these  things,  know  that  it  is 
near,  even  at  the  doors  ;"'  and,  after  his  resurrection, 
he  intimates  that  St.  John  should  live  to  see  those  ter- 
rible judgments;"  which  in  Scripture  are  expressej  by 
his  coming,  and  which  were  all  executed,  according  to 
those  predictions,  in  less  than  forty  years  from  the  time 
they  were  denounced. 

Next,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  it,  are  thus  foretold  by  our  Saviour  ;  "  Thine 
enemies  shall  cast  a  trench  about  thee,  and  compass 
thee  round,  and  keep  thee  in  on  every  side,  and  shall 
lay  thee  even  with  the  ground,  and  thy  children  within 
thee,  and  shall  not  leave  in  thee  one  stone  upon 
another."^ — "  Then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as 
was  not  since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time, 
no,  nor  ever  shall  be."^  All  which  was  fulfilled,  in 
Titus'^  encompassing  the  city  with  a  new  fortification 
raised  by  the  soldiers  in  three  days,  so  that  none  could 
come  out;  upon  which  there  ensued  a  most  dreadfuls' 
famine,  the  stores"  and  granaries  having  been  burnt  and 
consumed  before,  in  the  seditious  quarrels  and  fightings 
among  themselves  under  three  several  factions  endea- 
voring to  devour  one  another.  The  city  being  taken, 
was  levelled^  with  the  ground,  as  if  it  had  never  been 
inhabited ;  and  what  by  famine,  by  fire  and  sword,  and 
by  their  slaughters  of  one  another,  eleven  hundred 
thousand''  Jews  were  destroyed,  besides  ninety-seven 
thousand  who  were  taken  prisoners  ;  the  nation  at  that 
time  being  gathered  together  at  Jerusalem,  to  celebrate 
the  passover. 

The  particular  destruction  of  the  temple  is  thus  fore- 
told by  our  Saviour,  "  There  shall  not  be  left  here  one 
stone  upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down."<: 
And  JosEPHUs  tells  us,  that  Titus  ordered  the  soldiers 


6  Matt.  xxiv.  34. — Mark  xiii,  30.— Luke  xxi.  32. 

t  Matt.  xxiv.  33.  ^  John  xxi.  22. 

V  Luke  xix.  43,  44.  ^  Matt.  xxiv.  2L 

*^  JosEPHUS,  Jewish  Wars^  I.  VI.  c.  xiii.     y  c.  xiv. 

^  JosEPHUs,  I.  VL  c.  i.  a  JosEPHUs,  1.  VII,c.  xviii. 

^  JosEPHUs,  1.  vn.  c.  xvii.  e  Matt.  xxiv.  2. 


40  BISHOP  Gibson's 

to  lay  the  temple,  as  well  as  the  city,  eyen  with  the 
ground  ;'*  and  another  of  their  writers  "^  mentions  the 
fact  of  Turniis  Rufus'  digging  the  very  plot  of  ground 
on  which  it  stood,  with  a  plough-share. 

The  judgments  that  would  fall  upon  the  nation  in  . 
general,  are  thus  expressed  by  our  Saviour:  "These 
be  the  days  of  vengeance.  There  shall  be  great  dis- 
tress in  the  land,  and  ivrath  upon  this  people,  and  they 
shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword."^  Accordingly 
they  were  destroyed,^  to  the  number  of  two  hundred 
thousand  and  upwards,  in  several  sieges,  battles,  6lc. 
in  the  towns  and  countries  ;  besides  the  grand  slaughter 
at  Jerusalem. 

The  following  captivity  and  dispersion  of  those  who 
remained,  was  also  foretold  by  our  Saviour  :  "  They 
shall  be  led  away  captive  into  all  nations,  and  Jerusa- 
lem sliall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the 
time  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."^  Accordingly  Jose- 
PHUs,'  after  he  has  described  the  taking  of  Jerusalem, 
speaks  of  them  as  a  people  '  dispersed  over  the  face 
of  the  earth  ;'  and  particularly  tells  us,''  that  the  most 
graceful  of  the  captives  were  reserved  by  Titus  to  be 
part  of  his  triumph  :  that,  of  the  remainder,  those  above 
seventeen  years  of  age  were  sent  into  Egypt  in  chains, 
to  be  employed  in  servile  offices ;  and  others  of  them 
were  sent  into  several  provinces  for  the  use  of  the 
theatres  and  public  shows  ;  and  that  all  under  seven- 
teen years  of  age  were  exposed  to  sale.  And  ever 
since,  to  this  day,  they  have  been,  and  still  continue, 
a  people  dispersed  and  scattered  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  without  either  temple,  or  city,  or  govern- 
ment of  their  own. 

These  particulars  concerning  our  Saviour's  death,  and 
the  state  and  condition  of  his  disciples  and  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  consequent  upon  it,  are  events  which  are  foretold, 
and  which  we  find  to  have  punctually  come  to  pass,  partly 
from  the  accounts  of  our  own  Scriptures,  and  partly  from 
a  Jewish  historian  of  undoubted  credit  and  authority. 

tl  JOSEPHUS.  1.  VII.  c.  xviii.  e  Maimonides. 

f  Luke  xxi.  22,  23,  24. 

s  See  the  calculation  in  Archbishop  Usher's  Chronology. 

*"  Luke  xxi.  23,  24.  '  Josephus,  1.  VII.  c.  xxi, 

^  JosEPHU.^;,  1.  VII.  c.  xvi. 


FIRST     PASTORAL     LETTER,  47 

And  that  his  predictions,  when  fulfilled,  were  intended 
by  him  to  be  proofs  of  his  being  the  Messiah,  we 
may  gather  from  his  own  declarations.  Having  told 
his  disciples  that  Judas  should  betray  him,  he  pre- 
sently adds,  "  Now  I  tell  you  hefore  it  cow.e,  that  when 
it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  may  believe  that  I  am  Jfe."' 
And  after  the  prediction  of  his  death,  resurrection,  and 
ascension,  he  says,  "  And  now  I  have  told  you  before 
it  come  to  pass,  that  when  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  might 
believe,''''"'  i.  e.  says  Dr.  Hammond,  '  that  your  seeing 
my  prediction  fulfilled,  may  convince  you,  that  all 
w^hich  I  have  said  to  you  is  true,  and  so  make  you  be- 
lieve on  me.'  To  the  same  purpose,  is  that  which  he 
subjoins  to  his  account  of  the  persecutions  that  would 
befall  his  disciples  after  his  death,  "  these  things  I  have 
told  you,  that  when  the  time  shall  come,  ye  may  re- 
member that  I  told  you  of  them.''' " 

7.  From  the  predictions  of  our  Saviour,  and  the  ful- 
filling of  th^m,  carry  your  thoughts  to  the  speedy  and 
wonderful  propagation  of  the  gospel  ;  and  there 
also  you  will  see  the  clearest  evidences  of  a  divine 
power.  A  iew  obscure  and  illiterate  men,  without  art 
or  eloquence,  making  head  against  the  ancient  religions 
of  kingdoms  and  countries,  and  all  the  while  professing 
themselves  to  be  the  messengers  of  one  who  had  been 
despised,  and  ill  treated,  and  at  last  crucified  in  his  own 
country  ;  and  yet,  under  these  disadvantages,  prevailing 
with  multitudes  every  where  to  be  his  disciples,  and  to 
embrace  his  religion ;  and  this,  notwithstanding  the 
contrariety  of  its  doctrines  to  the  lusts,  passions,  and 
prejudices  of  mankind,  and  the  fierce  opposition  it  met 
with  from  the  powers  of  the  world,  and  the  terrible 
persecutions  which  for  some  time  were  almost  the 
certain  portion  of  the   professors  of  it ;   without  any 


'  John  xiii.  19.  ">  John  xiv.  29. 

"John  xvi.  4. — [See  the  very  full  statement  of  the  predictions  of 
Jesus,  with  their  several  fulfilments,  in  Hokne's  Introduction^  Vol.  I. 
Append.  No.  IV,  Chap.  ii. ;  and  the  consideration  of  the  same  subject, 
with  reference  to  its  connexion  with  the  general  history  of  Christianity, 
in  Sumner's  Evidences  of  Christiaraty  derived  from  its  Nature  and 
Reception,  Chap,  vi.] 


48  BISHOP  Gibson's 

encouragement  to  undergo  them,  but  what  was  future 
and  out  of  sight.  In  these  circumstances,  nothing 
could  lead  them  to  attempt  the  propagation  of  it  with 
any  hope  of  success,  but  a  promise  of  divine  assistance, 
and  their  firm  reliance  upon  it ;  nothing  could  have 
given  them  such  success  but  a  divine  power  working 
with  them  :  nor  can  any  thing  account  for  so  many  per- 
sons sealing  the  doctrine  with  their  blood,  in  so  many 
different  parts  of  the  w^orld,  but  an  absolute  assurance 
of  the  truth  of  what  they  taught,  and  a  future  reward 
for  their  labor  and  sufferings." 

They  who  require  greater  testimonies  of  a  divine 
mission  and  power,  than  those  I  have  mentioned  under 
this  eighth  general  head,  are  never  to  be  satisfied.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  when  an  honest  and  impartial  mind 
has  satisfied  itself,  upon  those  evidences,  that  our 
Saviour  and  his  apostles  had  a  divine  mission,  and  that 
they  wrought  many  and  great  miracles,  and  foretold 
events  by  a  power  and  inspiration  evidently  divine  ;  it 
follows  that  the  doctrines,  for  the  propagating  of  which 
they  were  sent,  and  for  the  confirmation  of  which  those 
extraordinary  powers  and  gifts  were  bestowed,  must 
undoubtedly  be  true,  as  coming  from  God,  and  attested 
by  him.  Particularly,  their  divine  mission  and  power 
being  first  established,  their  express  and  repeated  decla- 
rations that  Jesus  urns  the  Messiah,  become  to  us  a 
full  and  irresistible  .proof  of  the  truth  of  it.  And  when 
a  question  arises,  whether  or  no  this  or  that  prophecy 
in  the  Old  Testament,  this  or  that  type  in  the  Jewish 
law,  had  a  reference  to  the  Messiah  who  was  to  come, 
and  were  actually  fulfilled  in  Christ  ;  it  is  easy  to 
determine  with  yourselves,  whether  you  ought  to  listen 
to  persons  divinely  inspired,  who  affirm  they  had  a 
reference  to  Christ,  or  to  persons  who  pretend  to  no 
such  inspiration,  and  would  persuade  you  that  they  had 
not. 

The  evidence  arising  from  ancient  types  and  prophe- 
cies, has  (as  I  told  you  before)  been  fully  considered, 

•  [Compare  Watson's  Apology  for  Christianity  in  answer  to  Gib- 
bon's attempt  to  account  for  its  propagation  by  the  operation  of  natural 
secondary  causes ;  Paley's  Evidences,  Part  II.  Chap.  ix. ;  and  Sum- 
nek's  Evidences,  Chap,  x.] 


FIRST    PASTORAL    LETTER.  49 

and  cleared  from  the  cavils  and  objections  of  infidels, 
by  several  very  learned  men  ;  it  being  the  proper  pro- 
vince of  such,  to  follow  the  adversary  through  all  the 
intricacies  of  the  Jewish  learning,  and  the  contempo- 
rary histories,  customs,  and  modes  of  speaking  and 
writing.  But  as  persons  who  are  unacquainted  with 
these  things,  and  incapable  of  entering  minutely  into 
such  inquiries,  may  easily  be  misled  and  imposed  upon 
by  artful  and  designing  men  ;  so  I  have  shown  you 
under  this  head,  that  you  need  not  enter  into  them,  but 
may  receive  full  and  clear  satisfaction  from  evidences 
much  more  plain  and  direct,  which  lie  equally  open  to 
all  capacities,  and  are  perfectly  well  calculated  for  the 
conviction  of  all,  if  there  be  but  an  honest  and  unpre- 
judiced mind.  And  whoever  shall  affirm,  that  these  are 
not  a  full  and  sufficient  ground  of  conviction  without  a 
critical  inquiry  into  types  and  prophecies,  must  affirm 
at  the  same  time  that  no  part  of  the  Heathen  world, 
who  were  all  equally  unacquainted  with  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  could  receive  and  embrace  the  Christian 
faith  upon  a  just  and  reasonable  foundation ;  and  by 
consequence,  that  all  who  did  receive  and  embrace  it, 
however  wise  and  learned  in  other  respects  (which  was 
the  known  character  of  many  of  them)  were,  in  that 
particular,  fools  and  idiots  : — or  rather,  he  must  affirm, 
that  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  make  any  revelation  at 
all,  that  can  rationally  be  believed. 

But  because  practice  (as  I  have  observed  under  three 
different  heads)  has  so  great  an  influence  upon  principle, 
and  it  is  to  little  purpose  to  convince  the  mind  of  the 
truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  unless  the  will  and 
affections  be  preserved  in  a  right  disposition,  and  care- 
fully guarded,  as  well  against  the  many  allurements  to 
vice  and  profaneness  which  we  see  in  the  world,  as 
against  the  arts  and  endeavors  of  wicked  men  to  break 
down  the  fences  of  religion  ;  I  will  add  one  general 
direction,  which  being  duly  attended  to,  will  be  a  con- 
stant guard  against  all  such  attempts  and  allurements ; 
and,  by  preserving  your  hearts  in  a  Christian  disposi- 
tion, will  at  the  same  time  prepare  them  to  continue 
steadfast  in  the  Christian  faith. 

IX.  And  the  rule  is  this.  That  you  be  careful  to 
5 


50  BISHOP   Gibson's 

PRESERVE  UPON  YOUR  MINDS  A  SERIOUS  REGARD  AND 

REVERENCE  to  THINGS  SACRED;  that  i«,  to 
every  thing  that  bears  a  relation  to  God  and  his  religion, 
particularly  his  word,  his  name,  his  day,  his  house 
and  ORDINANCES,  and  his  ministers.  For  tliese  are 
visible  memorials  of  God  upon  earth  ;  and,  as  they  are 
the  standing  means  of  maintaining  an  intercouise  be- 
tween God  and  man,  a  serious  regard  to  them  is  a 
necessary  means  of  keeping  up  in  the  mind  an  habitual 
reverence  of  God.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  not  a 
more  evident  testimony  of  a  corrupt  and  depraved  dis- 
position, than  an  irreverent  treatment  of  things  sacred, 
a  contempt  of  any  thing  that  carries  on  it  a  divine  im- 
pression, or  an  obstinate  neglect  of  any  of  those  ordi- 
nances which  the  wisdom  of  God  has  appointed,  to 
support  and  preserve  his  religion  in  the  world.  When, 
therefore,  you  hear  any  person  depreciating  the  public 
duties  of  religion,  and  inveighing  against  ordinances 
of  all  kinds,  and  representing  public  assemblies,  and 
regular  ministers  for  the  administration  of  those  ordi- 
nances to  be  useless,  or  at  least  unnecessary  ;  you  have 
great  reason  to  suspect,  that  their //zaZ  aiiii  is,  by  bring- 
ing these  into  disuse  and  contempt,  to  banish  Christi- 
anity out  of  the  nation.  And  by  the  same  rule,  who- 
ever is  seriously  concerned  to  preserve  our  religion,  and 
to  maintain  the  honor  of  it,  must  take  great  care  to  pre- 
serve in  himself,  and  propagate  in  others,  a  constant 
and  serious  regard  to  every  thing  that  bears  a  relation 
to  God,  and  to  consider  it  as  sacred  on  that  account. 

Particularly, 

1.  As  to  the  WORD  of  God. — Whatever  we  find  de- 
livered by  the  prophets  in  the  Old  Testament,  or  by 
Christ  and  his  apostles  in  the  New,  is  always  to  be 
considered  bv  us  as  a  message  from  God  to  men  ;  and 
whoever  considers  it  as  such,  cannot  fail  of  paying  it 
the  highest  regard  and  reverence  ;  much  less  can  he 
fail  of  expressing,  on  all  occasions,  his  abhorrence  of 
making  it  the  subject  of  wit  and  jesting,  and  of  raising 
mirth  from  unserious  allusions  to  the  language  or  mat' 
ler  of  it  ;  which,  however  usual  in  loose  company  and 
among  unthinking  people,  is  a  very  great  degree  of 
impiety  and  profaneness.     As  the  Scriptures  contain 


FIRST    PASTORAL    LETTER.  51 

the  will  of  God,  they  are  certainly  entitled  to  your 
most  serious  regard  ;  and  the  most  proper  testimony  of 
your  regard  is,  to  read  them  frequently  and  with  atten- 
tion ; — to  have  recourse  to  them  as  your  great  rule  of 
duty,  and  the  treasure  out  of  which  religious  knowledge 
of  every  kind  is  to  be  mainly  drawn.  In  them,  you 
find  a  continued  mixture  of  precepts,  promises,  and 
threatenings  ;  first,  to  show  you  your  duty  and  to  re- 
mind you  of  it,  and  then  to  quicken  and  encourage 
you  in  the  performance  of  it.  And,  together  with  these, 
you  see  the  many  examples  of  pious  and  good  men, 
and  the  numerous  testimonies  of  God's  favor  to  the 
righteous,  and  his  judgments  upon  the  wicked.  In  the 
same  sacred  books,  you  behold  the  various  dispensa- 
tions of  God  in  the  successive  ages  of  the  world,  and 
the  glorious  scenes  of  providence,  opening  by  degrees, 
and  succeeding  one  another  in  a  regular  order,  and  at 
last  centring  in  the  Messiah.  And,  by  observing  the 
several  ways  in  which  God  has  revealed  himself  to 
mankind,  you  clearly  see  the  excellency  of  the  Chris- 
tian revelation  above  all  others,  in  the  purity  it  requires, 
and  the  rewards  it  proposes.  In  these  and  the  like 
ways,  do  the  holy  Scriptures  at  once  delight  and  edify 
all  those  who  attend  to  them,  and  are  conversant  with 
them,  and  who  regard  and  reverence  them  as  the  sacred 
oracles  of  God. 

2.  Ifl  like  manner,  the  name  of  God  is  to  be  esteemed 
sacred,  in  order  to  preserve  upon  the  mind  an  habitual 
honor  and  reverence  to  God  himself;  by  not  using  it 
otherwise  than  seriously,  and  not  mixing  it  with  our 
ordinary  conversation,  and  much  less  prostituting  it  to 
oaths,  and  curses,  and  imprecations.  Such  a  profane 
use  of  his  name  insensibly  takes  off  the  veneration  that 
is  due  to  his  being  ;  and  by  making  him  less  and  less 
feared,  emboldens  men  to  be  more  and  more  wicked  ; 
and  is  accordingly  seldom  heard  but  in  loose  company 
and  among  men  of  profligate  lives.  Wherefore,  be 
careful  to  abstain  from  a  common  and  irreverent  use  of 
that  sacred  name,  and  of  all  such  expressions  as  signify 
things  of  a  religious  nature, — as  our  faith,  our  salva- 
tion, or  the  like  ;  and  not  only  to  abstain  from  the 
undue  use  of  them  yourselves, -but  likewise  to  take  all 
proper  occasions   to  express  your  dislike  and  abhor- 


53  BISHOP    GIBSON'8 

rence  of  it  in  others,  and  especially  in  those  who  are 
placed  under  your  more  immediate  care. 

3.    The  Lord's  day  is  to  be  esteemed  sacred,    as 
being  sanctified  and  set  apart,   for  ceasing  from  our 
worldly  care  and  labor,  and  meditating  upon  God,  and 
paying  that  honor  and  adoration  which  he  requires  of 
us,  and  which  belongs  to  him,  as  the  Creator,  Preserver, 
and  Redeemer  of  mankind.     The  devout  and  serious 
observation  of  this  day,  is  one  of  the  most  effectual 
means  to  keep  alive  religion  in  the  world,  both  in  the 
outward  face  of  it,  and  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  Chris- 
tians ;  and  nothing  is  more  certain,  than  that  it  would 
quickly  be  lost  and  extinguished  among  the  generality 
of  mankind,  if  it  were  not  kept  alive  by  the  appointment 
of  this  day,  for  reviving  upon  their  minds  a  sense  of 
God  and  their  duty.     Wherefore  let  this  be  a  day  not 
only  of  rest  from  labor,  but  also  of  meditation  upon 
God  and  heavenly  things  ;  partly  in  a  devout  attendance 
upon  the  public  offices  of  religion,  and  partly  by  allow- 
ing a  reasonable  portion  of  the  day  to  the  private  duties 
of  reading  the  holy  Scriptures  and  other  good  books, 
and  instructing  your  children  and   servants,    and    ex- 
amining your  own  lives,    and    praying  to  God  for   a 
supply  of  your  own  private  necessities,  spiritual  and 
temporal.     I    say,    a  reasonable   portion    of  the    day, 
according  to  the  condition  of  particular  persons  and 
families.     For  they  who  on  all  other  days  were  confined 
to   hard   labbr,   or  are    otherwise    obliged    to    a    close 
attendance  on  their  worldly  aflfairs,  must  be  allowed  in 
some  measure  to   consider  this  as  a  day  of  ease  and 
relaxation  from  thought  and  labor,  as  well  as  a  day  of 
devotion  :    provided  it  be  in  a  way  that  is  innocent  and 
inoffensive,  and  that  the  public  offices  of  religion  be 
duly  attended,  and  the  duties  of  a  more  private  nature 
be  not  neglected.     But  there  are  many  others,  whose 
quality  and  condition  have  freed  them  from  the  neces- 
sity of  a  constant  attendance  upon  worldly  business, 
and  to  whom  all  other  days  are  equally  days  of  ease  and 
diversion  ;  and  from  them  it  may  well  be  expected,  that 
they  abstain   from    their  diversions   on  this  day,  and 
employ  it  more  strictly  in  the  duties  of  rehgion  ;  for 
which  indeed  they  have  greater  need  than  others,  to 
arm   themselves   against   the  manifold  temptations  to 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  53 

which  they  are  daily  exposed  by  ease  and  plenty.  And 
when  they  have  better  opportunity  and  greater  needy 
than  the  rest  of  mankind,  to  give  a  strict  attendance  to 
the  duties  of  religion  on  this  day  ;  if  they  do  it  not,  it 
is  much  to  be  feared  that  they  have  a  greater  relish  for 
the  delights  and  business  of  this  world,  than  for  exer- 
cises of  a  spiritual  nature. 

4.  Next  to  God's  day,  his  house  is  to  be  accounted 
sacred,  as  it  is  a  place  set  apart  for  the  performance  of 
religious  offices,  and  for  the  public  administration  of  re- 
lious  ordinances,  in  which  all  Christians  are  bound  to 
join.  The  duty  of  assembling  for  the  public  worship 
of  God,  appears  to  be  a  necessary  part  of  the  Christian 
religion,  as  well  from  the  first  institution  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  as  from  the  general  practice  of  Christians 
in  all  ages,  and  all  countries.  Our  Saviour  and  his 
apostles  found  the  Jewish  worship  every  Sabbath  day 
regillarly  settled  in  their  synagogues,  and  were  fo  far 
from  condemning  those  assemblies,  that  they  joined  in 
them.  After  his  ascension,  we  read,  that  they  who  upon 
the  i>reaching  of  the  Gospel  had  "received  the  word, 
continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fel- 
lowship, and  in  breaking'  of  bread,  and  in  prayers  i'^  and 
that  they  "  continued  daily  with  one  accord  in  the  tem- 
ple."p  The  Christians  in  particular  cities  and  countries 
are  every  where  in  the  New  Testament  styled  '  Church- 
es,' which  probably  denotes  an  assembly  of  persons  called 
together  into  one  body  ;  and  we  find  the  apostles  ordain- 
ing elders  in  the  Churches  planted  by  them.i  which  elders 
are  also  spoken  of  as  heads  of  the  several  Churches, 
and  rulers  in  them  ;'"  and  one  part  of  the  office  was,  to 
labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine,  to  take  heed  to  the 
flock,  and  to  feed  the  Church.'  At  Antioch,  where  the 
disciples  were  first  called  Christians,  "  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas assembled  themselves  with  the  Church  a  whole  year, 
and  taught  much  people  :"'  and  afterwards,  we  read  of 
prophets  and  teachers  in  "  the  Church  that  was  at  An- 
tioch."'^ In  other  places  of  the  New  Testament  we 
find  the  first  day  of  the  week  (the  day  of  our  Saviour's; 


p  Acts  ii.  42.  46.  q  Acts  xiv.  23. 

r  Tit.  i.  5 ;  Acts  xi.  30;  xx.  17.  28;  xxi,  18.        ^  1  Tim.  v.  17. 

'  Acts  xi.  26.  "  Acts  xiii.  1, 

5* 


54  BISHOP  Gibson's 

resurrection)  spoken  of  as  the  ordinary  time  of  the 
Christian  assemblies  ; — "  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
when  the  diciples  came  together  to  break  bread,  Paul 
preached  unto  them."''  And  the  same  apostle  gives 
special  direction  to  the  Christians  at  Corinth,  as  he  had 
done  before  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia,  that  "  upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week  every  one  should  lay  by  him  in 
store  as  God  had  prospered  him,  that  there  might  be  no 
gatherings  when  he  came,"^  In  his  first  epistle  di- 
rected to  the  same  Church,  he  lays  down  many  rules  for 
holding  their  assemblies  in  an  orderly  manner  :^  1^ 
first  reproves  them  for  their  disorderly  celebration  of 
the  feast  of  charity,  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  tells 
them, — that  they  came  together  not  for  the  better,  but 
for  the  worse, — that  when  they  '  came  together  in  the 
Church,'  he  heard  there  were  divisions  among  them, — 
that  their  behaving  themselves  as  if  they  were  eating 
and  drinking  in  their  own  houses,  was  'a  despising 
of  the  Church  of  God.'  After  this,  he  proceeds  to  give 
them  a  particular  account  of  the  institution  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  with  the  direction  of  Christ  to  cele- 
brate it  in  remembrance  of  him ;  which  he  elsewhere 
calls  the  "  communion  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  ;""  speaking  of  it  as  a  symbol  of  Christian 
union,  or  the  badge  of  their  relation  to  Christ,  and  to 
one  another  ;  all  which  is  necessarily  supposed  to  be 
performed  in  public  assemblies.  In  the  same  epistle," 
against  speaking  in  an  unknown  tongue,  he  says,""  "how" 
shall  he  that  occupieth  the  room  of  the  unlearned  say, 
Amen,  at  thy  giving  of  thanks,  seeing  he  understandeth 
not  what  thou  sayest?"  At  the  twenty-third  and  twenty- 
sixth  verses,  he  speaks  of  '  the  Church'  being  '  come  to- 
gether' into  one  place,  and  then  gives  further  directions 
for  their  more  orderly  behavior  in  their  assemblies, 
because,  as  he  adds  at  the  thirty-third  verse,  "  God  is 
not  the  author  of  confusion,  but  of  peace,  as  in  all 
Churches  of  the  saints' — which,  in  those  days,  was  the 
common  name  of  Christians.  At  the  thirty-fourth  verse 
the    *  women'    are    enjoined    to    '  keep  silence    in   the 


'  Acts  XX.  7.  *  1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  2. 

»  1  Cor.  xi.  y  1  Cor.  x.  26,  27. 

»  Ch.  xiv.  *  Verse  16. 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  55 

Churches;'  and  he  concludes  with  this  general  direction, 
"  let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order."  In  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  Christians  are  first  exhorted 
to  "  hold  fast  the  profession  of  their  faith  without  wa- 
vering ;"  and  then,  "  not  to  forsake  the  assembling  of 
themselves  together,"'^  even  in  times  of  persecution. 
And  that  they  strictly  conformed  to  this  apostolical  rule, 
we  have  the  testimony  of  Pliny,  a  Heathen  writer, 
who,  being  governor  of  a  Roman  province  about  the 
year  of  Christ  104,  gave  the  emperor  an  account  of 
xvhat  he  had  learned  concerning  the  Christians ;  "  that 
they  used  to  meet  together  on  a  certain  day  before 
light,  (for  fear  of  the  Heathen  persecutors,)  when  they 
joined  in  singing  a  hymn  to  Christ,  and  entered  in  a 
solemn  engagement  not  to  steal,  nor  rob,  nor  commit 
adultery,  nor  defraud  ;"  which  plainly  refers  to  the  ce- 
lebration of  the  Eucharist.'  But  Justin  Martyr,  an 
ancient  father,  in  his  Apology  for  the  Christians,'^  about 
the  year  of  Christ  150,  gives  a  more  particular  account 
of  their  public  worship  :  "  that  on  the  day  called  Sun- 
day, all  the  Christians  in  city  and  country  assembled  in 
one  place,  where  the  writings  of  the  apostles  and  pro- 
phets were  read.  That  as  soon  as  the  reader  had  made 
an  end,  there  followed  an  exhortation  to  the  people ; 
and  after  that,  prayers  and  the  holy  Eucharist ;  the  per- 
son who  officiated,  praying,  and  the  people  saying 
Amen." — To  all  which  we  may  add,  that  from  the  be- 
ginning of  Christianity  to  this  time,  no  instance  can  be 
given  of  any  country,  in  which  the  Christian  religion 
has  been  planted,  where  there  has  not  also  been  pray- 
er and  preaching,  and  administration  of  sacraments, 
in  an  open  and  public  manner  ;  though  it  is  known 
to  have  been  planted  by  several  apostles  in  several 
countries. 

And  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that  there  are  none  among  us 
at  this  day,  who  hold  religious  assemblies  to  be  useless 
and  unnecessary,  except  the  open  or  secret  enemies  of 
Christianity  ;  who  well  know  how  great  a  means  they 
are  to  preserve  a  sense  of  Gou  and  religion  in  the  world, 
and  to  improve  men  in  the  graces  and  virtues  of  the  Chris- 
fa  Heb.  X.  23.25.  '  Plin.  Lib.  X.  Ep.  97. 
Apol.  II. 


56  BISHOP  Gibson's 

tiaii  life.  But  if  there  be  any  who  otherwise  bear  no 
ill-will  to  the  Christian  religion,  and  yet  are  of  the 
number  of  those  who  think  public  prayer,  preaching, 
and  other  ordinances,  to  be  tilings  indifferent  and  unne- 
cessary ;  it  is  because  they  consider  not  the  corrupt 
state  of  human  nature,  nor  the  common  condition  of 
human  life — how  strongly  some  are  inclined  to  the  de- 
lights of  the  Avorld,  and  to  what  degree  others  are  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  cares  of  it ;  how  ignorant  many  are  of 
their  duty,  and  how  often  it  is  seen  that  they  who  know 
it,  practise  it  no  better  than  those  who  know  it  not ; 
how  little  disposition  men  naturally  hav^  to  acts  of  de- 
votion, and  how  unmindful  they  are  apt  to  be  of  a  future 
state  ; — upon  the  whole,  what  small  hope  there  is  that 
the  generality  of  mankind  would  retain  just  notions  of 
God  and  religion,  if  they  were  not  frequently  explained 
to  them, — or  attend  to  their  duty,  if  it  were  not  fre- 
quently inculcated  upon  them, — or  refrain  from  inordi- 
nate enjoyments,  if  they  were  not  frequently  warned  of 
the  danger  of  them, — or  be  influenced  by  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  if  they  were  not  frequently  put  in 
mind  of  them, — or,  lastly,  tliat  they  would  duly  perform 
the  work  of  devotion,  if  they  were  not  called  to  it,  and 
assisted  in  it  by  public  offices  and  ministers  appointed 
for  that  end,  and  at  the  same  time  excited  to  serious- 
ness and  attention  by  the  solemnity  of  the  work,  and 
the  examples  of  their  fellow  Christians  :— ^which  shows, 
on  one  hand,  the  wisdom  of  God  in  providing  those  out- 
ward means  to  check  and  cure  our  inward  depravities  ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  folly  of  those  who  in  their 
reasonings  against  instituted  rites  and  ordinances  of  re- 
ligion, seem  to  forget  the  blindness  and  corruption  of 
human  nature,  or  rathei  to  suppose  that  mankind  are  a 
race  of  angels,  wholly  freed  from  the  power  of  tempta- 
tions, and  carried  by  their  own  nature,  with  the  greatest 
readiness  and  cheerfulness,  into  all  the  acts  of  adoration 
and  obedience. 

Now,  if  public  asse77iblie$  be  necessary,  the  appoint- 
ment of  places  for  those  assemblies  is  also  niecessary  : 
and  as  the  place  becomes  sacred,  by  the  sacred  offices 
which  are  performed  in  it,  so  the  true  way  of  ex])ressing 
our  regard  to  the  place,  is  a  devout  and  religious  attend- 
ance upon  the  offices  ;  to  consider,   that  Ave  go  to  the 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  5T 

house  of  God,  not  for  fashion's  sake,  but  for  the  ends  of 
devotion  and  spiritual  improvement ;  and  accordingly 
to  fix  our  attention,  and  to  join  seriously  and  devoutly 
with  the  congregation  in  the  several  parts  of  divine 
service.  On  the  contrary,  a  wilful  neglect  of  the 
Christian  assemblies,  or  a  careless  and  irreverent  be- 
havior in  them,  is  a  contempt  and  profanation  of  the 
house  of  God,  and  savors  of  a  mind  void  of  religion. 

5.  As  the  house  of  God  is  sacred,  on  account  of  the 
religious  offices  that  are  performed  in  it ;  so  are  the 
MINISTERS  who  perform  those  offices,  and  who  have 
received  a  regular  appointment  to  it,  as  far  as  they 
answer  the  ends  of  such  appointment.  By  their  hands 
the  holy  ordinances  of  the  Christian  religion  are  ad- 
ministered, by  their  tongues  the  word  of  God  is  ex- 
plained and  enforced,  and  by  their  ministry  many  other 
blessings  and  benefits  are  deriv^  to  the  people  com- 
mitted to  their  care.  And  as  to  the  necessity  of  a 
regular  mission,  without  which  no  person  may  minister 
publicly  in  holy  things  ;  this  appears,  as  well  from  the 
first  institution  of  a  Christian  Church  and  from  the  con- 
stant practice  of  it  in  all  ages,  as  from  the  endless  con- 
fusions that  must  unavoidably  ensue,  if  every  one  might 
set  up  himself  to  be  a  public  teacher,  and  intrude  at 
pleasure  into  the  ministerial  office.  Whether  therefore 
we  regard  the  nature  and  original  of  their  office,  or  the 
work  they  are  employed  about ;  they  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  God's  ministers,  and  to  be  received  and 
respected  under  that  character,  unless  they  forfeit  their 
title  to  respect,  by  living  unsuitably  to  their  character. 
In  which  case,  I  am  very  far  from  recommending  them 
either  to  your  love  or  esteem,  since  I  know  it  is  im- 
possible for  you  to  pay  either  :  there  being  no  person 
^o  truly  the  object  of  abhorrence  and  contempt  in  the 
sight  of  all  good  men,  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  who 
by  his  irregular  life  renders  himself  unworthy  of  his 
function  and  character.  But  let  me  caution  you  against 
being  drawn  into  a  dislike  of  the  order  itself,  as  un- 
necessary and  useless  ;  for  this  will  of  course  draw 
you  into  a  disregard  of  the  ordinances  of  Christianity, 
or  rather  will  abolish  the  ordinances  themselves  :  and 
accordingly  it  has  been  labored  by  the  promoters  of 
infidelity,  as  one  effectual  expedient  to  banish  the  face 


58  BISHOP  Gibson's 

of  Christianity  from  among  us.  Let  me  also  caution 
you  against  censuring  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy  for 
the  faults  of  a  very  few  in  proportion  out  of  so  great  a 
number,  and  against  charging  that  as  vice  or  immorality, 
which  may  in  reality  be  no  more  than  indiscretion  or 
imprudence.  In  general,  let  me  caution  you  against  a 
delight  in  censuring  the  clergy,  and  a  desire  to  make 
them  appear  mean  and  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  their 
people,  by  which  you  bring  upon  yourselves  the  great 
guilt  of  disabling  them  to  do  good  in  their  several  sta- 
tions. And  if  you  find  any  who  are  really  immoral, 
and  persevere  in  it,  show  your  concern  for  the  honor  of 
God  and  religion,  by  taking  proper  methods  to  bring 
them  under  the  censures  of  tlie  Church,  for  the  reforma- 
tion of  them,  and  the  terror  of  others. 

X.  Above  all  things,  beware  of  falling  into  an 
UNCONCERNEDNESS    and    INDIFFERENCE,    in 

THE   POINT   OF   RELIGION. 

When  a  revelation  is  generally  believed  to  come 
from  God,  and  has  been  received  and  embraced  as  such 
by  so  many  successive  ages  and  different  nations,  and 
by  multitudes  of  wise  and  good  men  in  all  those  ages 
and  nations; — when  it  lays  down  rules  for  o\xy  present 
state,  which  manifestly  tend  to  holiness,  and  peace, 
and  the  improvement  and  perfection  of  human  nature, 
and  proposes  to  mankind  a  future  state  of  rewards  or 
punishments,  both  of  them  unspeakable  and  endless, 
according  to  their  obedience  or  disobedience  to  the  pre- 
cepts it  lays  down  : — certainly,  such  a  revelation  de- 
mands the  regard  and  attention  of  a  rational  creature, 
so  far  as  soberly  to  consider  it,  and  to  inquire  carefully 
into  the  grounds  of  it,  as  a  matter  in  which  he  is  nearly 
concerned.  Christianity  requires  no  further  favor,  than 
a  fair  and  impartial  inquiry  into  the  grounds  and  doc- 
trines of  it;  and  for  men  who  live  in  a  country  where 
it  is  publicly  professed,  and  where  they  have  all  the 
proper  and  necessary  means  of  information,  not  to 
attend  to  it  at  all,  or  to  consider  it  with  such  indifference 
as  if  they  thought  themselves  unconcerned  in  it,  is  the 
highest  degree  of  stupidity  and  folly.  Let  me  there- 
fore beseech  you,  to  think  of  religion  as  a  matter  of 
great   importance  in   itself,  and  of  infinite    concern  to 


FIRST  PASTORAL  LETTER.  59 

every  one  of  you  ;  and  not  to  suffer  yourselves  either 
to  be  diverted  by  the  business  or  pleasures  of  the  world 
from  regarding  it,  or  deluded  by  wicked  men  into  an 
opinion  that  it  deserves  not  your  regard. 

These,  my  brethren,  are  the  rules  and  directions 
which  I  would  put  into  your  hands,  and  recommend  to 
your  serious  and  frequent  perusal ;  hoping  that  by  the 
blessing  of  God  they  may  contribute  to  your  establish- 
ment in  the  Christian  faith  and  doctrine,  against  all 
attempts  of  atheistical  and  wicked  men  to  seduce  and 
corrupt  you.  And  that,  under  the  influence  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit,  they  may  become  effectual  to  that  great 
end,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of 

Your  faithful  friend  and  pastor, 

EDMUND  LONDON. 


BISHOP  OF  LONDON'S 

SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER 


0CCA8I0NKD   BY   SOME  LATE   WKITINGS   IN   WHICH   IT   IS   ASSERTED,    THAT    'REASON 

IS   A   SUFFICIENT   GUIDE    IN  MATTEKS    OF   REUGION,  WITHOUT   THE 

HELP   OF  REVELATION.' 


The  arguments  that  have  been  used  to  support  the 
cause  of  infidelity,  may  be  reduced  to  two  general 
heads  ; — one,  That  there  is  not  sufficient  evidence  of 
the  truth  and  authority  of  the  Gospel  revelation  ; — 
the  other,  That  reason  being  a  sufficient  guide  in  matters 
of  religion,  there  was  no  need  of  such  a  revelation. 
The  tendency  of  the  first  is  to  persuade  men  to  reject 
the  Gospel ;  and  the  tendency  of  the  second,  to  satisfy 
them  that  they  may  without  danger  or  inconvenience 
lay  aside  and  neglect  it :  and  wherever  either  of  these 
arguments  prevails,  the  work  of  infidelity  is  effectually 
carried  on. 

To  prevent  your  being  seduced  or  shaken  by  any 
suggestion  that  the  evidences  of  the  truth  and  authority 
of  the  Christian  revelation  are  not  full  and  sufficient^ 
I  endeavored  in  my  First  Letter  to  bring  those  evi- 
dences into  as  narrow  a  compass  as  I  could  ;  that, 
having  set  them  before  you  in  one  view,  and  in  their 
united  strength,  you  might  be  able  to  judge  for  your- 
selves. And  as  a  chain  of  evidences  so  plain  and  for- 
cible cannot  fail  to  establish  every  unprejudiced  mind 
in  a  firm  belief  that  the  Gospel  revelation  was  from 
God  :  so,  when  that  is  once  established,  no  suggestion 
either  against  the  need  of  such  a  revelation,  or  against 
our  obligation  to  receive  it,  ought  to  make  any  impres- 
sion upon  you  ;  because,  to  suppose  that  God  makes  a 
revelation  which  is  needless,  is  a  direct  impeachment 
of  his  wisdom;  and  to  affirm  that  we  are  not  hound  to 
attend  to  and  receive  it,  when  made,  is  no  less  an  im- 
peachment of  his  authority. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  61 

But  since  the  infidels  of  our  age  are  endeavoring  to 
lead  men  into  a  disregard  of  all  revelation,  by  magnify- 
ing the  strength  of  natural  reason,  and  recommending 
it  as  a  full  and  sufficient  guide  in  matters  of  religion ; 
and  from  thence  infer,  that  the  means  of  salvation 
directed  by  the  Gospel,  notwithstanding  all  the  evidences 
of  their  beii^g  God's  own  appointment,  are  to  be  laid 
aside  as  super.^titions  and  human  inventions,  and  every 
man  is  to  have  the  framing  of  his  own  religion  ; — Since 
also  there  is  great  cause  to  apprehend,  that  many  may 
give  too  favorable  entertaimnent  to  a  scheme  which 
thus  flatters  the  pride  of  human  understanding,  and 
which,  by  lessening  or  removing  the  terrors  of  the 
Gospel,  shakes  off  the  restraints  that  are  most  uneasy 
to  the  corruptions  of  nature  : — For  these  reasons,  it 
highly  concerns  those  who  have  the  care  of  souls,  to 
guard  them  against  such  fatal  errors ;  first,  by  con- 
vincing them  of  the  insufficiency  of  natural  reason  to 
be  a  guide  in  religion,  and,  by  consequence,  of  the  need 
of  a  divine  revelation,  and  our  obligation  to  attend  to  it ; 
and  then,  by  setting  before  them  the  peculiar  excel- 
lences and  advantages  of  the  Christian  revelation,  and 
the  great  sinfulness  of  rejecting  it. 

Of  these,  and  some  other  points  which  naturally  fall 
in  with  them,  I  will  endeavor  to  give  you  a  full  and 
clear  view,  under  the  following  heads  : 

I.  The  true  and    proper  use   of   reason,  with 

REGARD  TO  REVELATION. 

II.  The  insufficiency  of  reason  to  be  a  guide 

IN  RELIGION. 

III.  The  great  need,  and  expedience,  of  a  di- 
vine REVELATION  FOR  THAT  END. 

IV.  The  OBLIGATION  WE  ARE  UNDER  TO  INftUIRE 
WHETHER  ANY  REVELATION  HAS  BEEN  MADE,  AND  WHAT 
EVIDENCES  THERE  ARE  OF  ITS  COMING  FROM  GoD. 

V.  The  DUTY  of  mankind  to  receive  for  their 

GUIDE,  WHATEVER  REVELATION  COMES  FROM  GoD  ;  AND 
TO  RECEIVE  IT  WHOLE  AND  ENTIRE. 

VI.  The  PECULIAR  excellences  of  the  Christian 

REVELATION. 

VII.  The  GREAT  SINFULNESS  AND  DANGER  OF  RE- 
jecting this  revelation. 

Vol.  v.— 6 


62  BISHOP  Gibson's 

I.  Of  the  true  and  proper  use  of  reason,  with 

REGARD  TO   REVELATION. 

Those  among  us  who  have  labored  of  late  years  to 
set  up  reason  against  revelation,  would  make  it  pass  for 
an  established  truth,  that  if  you  will  embrace  revelation, 
you  must  of  course  quit  your  reason ;  which,  if  it  were 
true,  would  doubtless  be  *a  strong  prejudice  against 
revelation.  But  so  far  is  this  from  being  true,  that  it 
is  universally  acknowledged  that  revelation  itself  is  to 
stand  or  fall  by  the  test  of  reason,  or,  in  other  words, 
according  as  reason  finds  the  evidences  of  its  coming 
from  God,  to  be  or  not  to  be  sufficient  and  conclusive, 
and  the  matter  of  it  to  contradict,  or  not  contradict,  the 
natural  notions  which  reason  gives  us  of  the  being  and 
attributes  of  God,  and  of  the  essential  differences  between 
good  and  evil.  And  when  reason,  upon  an  impartial 
examination,  finds  the  evidences  to  be  full  and  sufficient, 
it  pronounces  that  the  revelation  ought  to  be  received, 
and  as  a  necessary  consequence  thereof,  directs  us  to 
give  up  ourselves  to  the  guidance  of  it.  But  here  reason 
stops ;  not  as  set  aside  by  revelation,  but  as  taking 
revelation  for  its  guide,  and  not  thinking  itself  at  liberty 
to  call  in  question  the  wisdom  and  expedience  of  any 
part,  after  it  is  satisfied  that  the  whole  comes  from  God  ; 
any  more  than  to  object  against  it,  as  containing  some 
things,  the  manner,  end  and  design  of  which,  it  cannot 
fully  comprehend.  These  were  the  wise  and  pious 
sentiments  of  an  ingenious  writer  of  our  own  time ; 
"I  gratefully  receive  and  rejoice  in  the  light  of  revela- 
tion, which  sets  me  at  rest  in  many  things,  the  manner 
v-^hereof  my  poor  reason  can  by  no  means  make  out  to 
me."^  And  elsewhere,  having  laid  it  down  for  a  general 
maxim,  '  that  reason  must  be  our  last  judge  and  guide 
in  every  thing  ;'  he  immediately  adds,  "  I  do  not  mean, 
that  we  must  consult  reason,  and  examine  whether  a 
proposition  revealed  from  God,  can  be  made  out  by 
natural  principles,  and  if  it  cannot,  that  then  we  may 
reject  it.  But  consult  it  we  must,  and  by  it  examine 
whether  it  be  a  revelation  from  God,  or  no.  And  if 
reason  finds  it  to  be  revealed  from  God,  reason  then 
declares  for  it,    as  much  as  for  any  other  truth,  and 


A  Locke,  Vol.  I.  p.  573. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  63 

makes  it  one  of  her  dictates  :"b — Which  is  in  effect 
what  St.  Peter  means,  when  he  commands  Christians 
to  "  be  always  ready  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that 
is  in  them."<^ 

Agreeably  to  this,  the  bounds  of  reason  and  faith  are 
laid  out  by  the  same  writer  as  follows  :  "  Reason,'^  says 
he,  "  as  contradistinguished  to  faith,  I  take  to  be  the 
discovery  of  the  certainty  or  probability  of  such  propo- 
sitions or  truths,  which  the  mind  arrives  at  by  deduc- 
tion made  from  ideas  which  it  has  got  by  the  use  of  its 
natural  faculties,  viz.  by  sensation,  or  reflection.  Faith, 
on  the  other  side,  is  the  assent  to  any  proposition  not 
thus  made  out  by  the  deductions  of  reason,  but  upon 
the  credit  of  the  proposer,  as  coming  from  God  in  some 
extraordinary  way  of  communication."'^  And  again  : 
*'  Reason  is  natural  revelation,  whereby  the  eternal  Fa- 
ther of  light,  and  fountain  of  all  knowledge,  communi- 
cates to  mankind  that  portion  of  truth,  which  he  has  laid 
within  the  reach  of  their  natural  faculties  ;  revelation  is 
natural  reason  enlarged  by  a  new  set  of  discoveries 
communicated  by  God  immediately,  which  reason  vouch- 
es the  truth  of  by  the  testimony  and  proof  it  gives,  that 
they  come  from  God.''^  And  elsewhere,  "  Thus  far 
the  dominion  of  faith  reaches,  and  that  without  any 
violence  or  hindrance  to  reason,  which  is  not  injured  or 
disturbed,  but  assisted  and  improved  by  new  discoveries 
of  truth,  coming  from  the  eternal  fountain  of  know- 
ledge."f  And,  "  Whatsoever  is  divine  revelation,  ought 
to  overrule  all  our  opinions,  prejudices,  and  interests, 
and  hath  a  right  to  be  received  with  full  assent. — ■ 
Such  a  submission  as  this,  of  our  reason  to  faith,  takes 
not  away  the  landmarks  of  knowledge  :  this  shakes  not 
the  foundation  of  reason,  but  leaves  us  that  use  of  our 
faculties  for  which  they  were  given."' 

So  little  did  this  acute  writer  dream  of  the  new  no^ 
tions  which  have  been  since  invented  to  support  the 
cause  of  infidelity,  'that  God  cannot,  consistently  with 
the  immutability  of  his  nature,  make  any  new  revela- 
tion [though  to  mutable  creatures]  by  way  of  addition 


b  Locke,  Vol.  I.  p.  334.       .  «  1  Peter  iii.  15. 

^  Locke,  p.  336.  •■  Ibid.  Vol.  L  p.  331, 

f  Jhid.  p,  339.  ^  Ibid. 


64  BISHOP  Gibson's 

to  the  original  law  of  nature ; — that  the  making  any 
such  new  revelation  would  be  to  deal  with  his  creatures 
in  an  arbitrary  manner ; — that  no  evidence  from  miracles 
or  other  external  testimonies,  upon  which  any  new  re- 
velation claims  to  be  received  as  coming  from  God,  are 
to  be  at  all  regarded  ; — and,  that  the  matter  of  such  a 
revelation  is  not  to  be  attended  to  by  any  man,  further 
than  he  sees  the  fitness  and  wisdom  of  it,  and  can  sup- 
pose it  to  be  part  of  the  original  law  of  nature  :' — that 
is,  it  is  not  to  be  regarded  or  attended  to  at  all,  as  a  re- 
velation.— But  this,  by  the  way. 

II.  Reason,  of  itself,  is  an  insufficient  guide  in 

MATTERS  OF  RELIGION. 

But  before  I  proceed  directly  to  the  proof  of  this,  I 
must  caution  you  against  several  fallacious  arguings 
upon  this  point,  by  which  you  may  otherwise  be  de- 
ceived and  imposed  on. 

One  is,  the  arguing  from  the  powers  of  reason  in  a 
state  of  innocence,  in  which  the  understanding  is  sup- 
posed to  be  clear  and  strong,  and  the  judgment  unbiased 
and  free  from  the  influences  of  inordinate  appetites  and 
inclinations  ; — to  the  powers  and  abilities  of  reason  un- 
der the  present  corrupt  state  of  human  nature  ;  in 
which  we  find  by  experience  how  often  we  are  deceived, 
ev^en  in  things  before  our  eyes,  and  the  common  affairs 
of  human  life  ;  and  more  particularly  in  the  case  of  re- 
ligion, how  apt  our  judgment  would  be  to  follow  the 
bent  of  our  passions  and  appetites,  and  to  model  our 
duty  according  to  their  motions  and  desires,  if  God  had 
left  this  wholly  to  every  one's  reason,  and  not  given 
us  a  more  plain  and  express  revelation  of  his  will,  to 
check  and  balance  that  influence  which  our  passions 
and  appetites  are  found  to  have  over  our  reason  and 
judgment. 

Another  fallacious  way  of  arguing  is,  that  as  reason 
is  our  guide  in  the  affairs  of  this  life,  it  may  also  be  our 
guide  in  religion,  and  the  concerns  of  the  next  life.. 
Whereas  in  one  it  has  the  assistance  of  sense,  and  expe- 
rience, and  observation,  but  in  the  other  it  is  left  in 
great  measure  to  conjecture  and  speculation.  Or  if  rea- 
son were  equally  capable  of  making  a  judgment  upon 
things  of  a  temporal,  and  things  of  a  spiritual  nature  ; 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  65 

yet  there  Mall  always  be  a  very  great  difference  in  the 
degrees  of  attention  which  the  generality  of  men  allow 
to  things  temporal  and  things  spiritual,  to  things  pre- 
sent and  things  future,  to  things  in  view  and  things  out 
of  sight : — so  that  it  is  usually  seen,  that  the  wiser  men 
are  about  the  things  of  this  world,  the  less  wise  they  are 
about  the  things  of  the  next.  And  as  to  the  sufficiency 
of  reason  to  be  a  guide  in  religion,  it  is  much  the  same 
thing  with  regard  to  the  generality  of  the  world, 
whether  reason  be  incapahle  of  framing  a  complete 
rule  of  life, — or  the  generality  be  hindered  by  pleasures 
or  by  attendance  on  their  worldly  affairs,  from  eviploy- 
ing  their  reason  to  frame  it,  which  will  always  be  the 
case  of  the  greatest  part  of  mankind. 

In  the  next  place,  therefore,  it  is  very  unfair  in  those 
who  deny  the  need  and  expedience  of  a  divine  revelation, 
to  argue  in  favor  of  reason,  as  if  all  mankind  were  philo- 
sophers, and  every  one  had  sufficient  capacity,  leisure, 
and  inclination,  to  form  a  scheme  of  duties  for  the  direc- 
tion of  his  own  life.  For  it  is  not  enough  to  say,  that  there 
are  learned  men  in  the  world  who  are  able  to  form  such 
schemes;  since,  whatever  their  own  ability  may  be,  they 
have  no  right  to  command  assent  and  obedience  from 
others  ;  nor  can  any  one  rationally  receive  and  embrace 
their  schemes  without  following  them  through  the  chain 
of  reasonings  upon  which  they  are  built,  and  judging 
whether  the  reasonings  will  support  the  schemes  ;  and, 
further,  (in  case  those  learned  men  differ,)  without  judg- 
ing which  of  them  is  in  the  right,  and  which  in  the 
wrong — a  task  that  the  generality  of  mankind  are  as 
unequal  to,  as  they  are  to  the  framing  the  schemes  them- 
selves. And  the  difficulty  is  still  greater  when  we  find 
the  same  philosopher  differing  from  himself — now  ad- 
vancing one  opinion,  and  then  again  leaning  to  another, 
— at  one  time  clear  and  positive,  at  another  time  doubt- 
ful and  wavering  upon  the  very  same  point ;  in  which 
case  his  opinion  on  either  side  can  amount  to  no  more 
in  the  result  than  to  prove  him  a  guide  very  unfit  for 
the  people  to  follow. 

No  less  unfair  is  it,  to  interpret  the  zeal  that  is  shown 

for  REVEALED  RELIGION,  as  a  disregard  of  morality. 

This  is  so  far  from  being  true,  that  the  advocates  of 

revelation  always  consider  the  whole  body  of  the  moral 

6* 


66  BISHOP    GIBSON'S 

law,  as  an  essential  part  of  the  Christian  institution ; 
which  is  so  far  from  having  abolished  morality,  that  it 
enjoins  and  enforces  the  practice  of  it,  upon  higher 
motives,  for  more  noble  ends,  and  to  greater  degrees  of 
perfection,  than  any  scheme  of  mere  morality  ever  did  ; 
as  will  be  shown  more  at  large  in  this  Letter.  But  at 
the  same  time  it  is  laid  down  by  them  as  an  undoubted 
truth,  '  that  God  has  a  right  to  prescribe  the  terms  and 
conditions  upon  which  he  will  grant  pardon  and  favor 
to  mankind  ; — that  he  has  fully  and  clearly  declared  in 
the  Gospel,  what  those  terms  and  conditions  are  ; — and 
that,  therefore,  it  is  great  presumption  and  a  vain  hope 
to  expect  pardon  and  salvation  in  any  other  way.'  And 
to  say,  in  this  view,  that  the  precepts  of  morality,  as 
the  product  of  mere  natural  reason,  are  not  a  sufficient 
guide  to  salvation,  cannot  with  any  justice  be  called  a 
disregard  of  morality. 

No  more  can  the  reverence  we  pay  to  the  revela- 
tion OF  THE  Scriptures  as  a  divine  direction,  be 
called  a  disregard  of  philosophy  as  the  product  of 
natural  reason.  Persons  of  leisure,  capacity,  and  atten- 
tion, in  any  age,  might  easily  learn  from  observation 
and  experience,  that  an  immoderate  indulgence  of  the 
appetites  was  hurtful  to  the  body  and  estate,  and  a  like 
indulgence  of  the  passions  equally  prejudicial  to  the 
inward  peace  of  the  mind,  and  the  outward  order  and 
regularity  of  the  world  ;  and  while  mankind  had  no 
other  light,  the  philosophers  employed  their  time 
worthily,  in  drawing  such  rules  from  reason  and  expe- 
rience, as,  being  duly  observed,  might  make  the  present 
life  more  happy,  or  rather,  what  was  the  great  end  they 
aimed  at,  less  miserable.  But  then,  as  their  notions 
concerning  another  life  were  at  best  confused  and  im- 
perfect, and  mere  reason  could  not  inform  them,  with 
any  certainty,  that  this  life,  with  whatever  befalls  us  in 
it,  is  a  state  of  trial  and  probation  in  order  to  another, — 
they  could  not  tell  how  to  make  the  pains,  miseries, 
and  misfortunes  of  this  world,  turn  to  our  account ;  nor, 
by  consequence,  could  they  lay  a  sure  and  solid  founda- 
tion of  ease  and  comfort  against  all  events.  The  con- 
siderations which  philosophy  suggests,  to  support  us 
under  the  pressures  and  calamities  of  life,  are  such  as 
theae ;  '  that  they  are  the  common  portion  of  mankind ; — 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  67 

that  it  is  possible  time  may  alter  things  for  the  bet- 
ter ; — that  at  worst  death  will  put  an  end  to  them  ; — 
and,  that  impatience  in  the  mean  time  will  but  increase 
them.'  The  rules  of  revelation  are  ;  '  that  whatever 
befalls  us,  is  by  the  appointment  of  a  wise  and  good 
God  ; — that  he  sees  afflictions  necessary  to  wean  us  from 
the  love  of  this  world,  and  to  turn  our  desires  and 
affections  upon  a  much  better  ; — that  he  has  promised 
either  to  deliver  us  from  them,  or  support  us  under 
them,  and  by  that  has  given  us  ground  for  a  full  trust 
and  comfortable  hope  in  him  ; — that  our  patience  under 
the  afflicting  hand  of  God,  is  a  fresh  endearment  of  us  to 
him,  and  will  be  an  addition  to  our  future  happiness ; — 
and  that,  in  point  of  duration,  the  sufferings  of  this  life 
are  as  nothing,  when  compared  with  an  eternity  of  joy 
and  glory.'  These,  we  say,  are  a  much  better  founda- 
tion of  ease  and  comfort,  than  any  rules  that  the 
philosophers  either  did  or  could  lay  down  : — but  in 
saying  this,  ^ve  do  not  condemn  the  rules  of  philoso- 
phy upon  that  or  other  points,  nor  discourage  persons 
of  leisure  and  capacity  from  entertaining  themselves 
v/ith  them,  not  only  as  an  agreeable  diversion,  but  as  a 
useful  exercise  of  the  mind  ;  some  things  in  them  being 
truly  great,  and  what  we  justly  admire  in  Heathens,  as 
tending  to  raise  the  soul  above  the  pleasures  and  enjoy- 
ments of  earth.  But  then  we  say,  that  the  study  of 
those  writings  is  become  useless  and  unnecessary  to 
the  generality  of  people,  since  revelation  has  furnished 
us  Vv'ith  rules  and  precepts,  both  moral  and  divine, 
which  are  far  more  perfect  in  themselves,  far  more 
effectual  for  their  several  ends,  and  established  by  a  far 
higher  authority,  than  any  of  the  rules  and  sayings  of 
the  philosophers  can  pretend  to  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
are  plain  and  clear  to  the  meanest  capacities. 

This  points  out  to  us  another  advantage  which  the 
enemies  of  revelation  very  unduly  take,  to  advance  the 
strength  and  power  of  natural  reason  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion :  and  that  is,  the  taking  an  estimate  of  those 
powers  from  books  upon  the  subject  of  morality,  that 
have  been  v/ritten  since  the  Christian  revelation  was 
made ;  many  of  which  are  clear  and  uniform  both  in 
the  measures  of  duty,  and  the  motives  to  the  perform- 
ance of  it.     But  this  clearness  and  uniformity  are  really 


68  BISHOP  Gibson's 

owing  to  the  light  of  revelation,  which  has  given  us  a 
far  more  exact  knowledge  than  we  had  before  of  the 
nature  and  attributes  of  God,  from  whence  many  of  the 
duties  do  immediately  flow,  and  also  a  far  greater 
certainty  of  future  rewards  and  punishments,  as  well  as 
a  clearer  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  sobriety,  temper- 
ance, and  other  moral  virtues,  as  preparations  for  our 
happiness  in  the  next  life,  by  perfecting  our  natures  in 
order  to  it.  And  therefore  to  judge  rightly  how  far 
reason  is  able  to  be  a  guide  in  religion,  we  must  form 
that  judgment  upon  the  writings  of  such  of  the  ancient 
philosophers,  as  appear  not  to  have  had  any  know^ledge 
either  of  the  Jewish  or  the  Christian  revelation  ;  and 
then  inquire,  'what  progress  they  were  able  to  make 
in  the  knowledge  of  divine  matters,  by  the  strength  of 
mere  natural  reason  ? — to  what  degrees  of  certainty 
concerning  those  matters  it  could  and  did  carry  them  ? — 
what  agreement  and  uniformity  there  was  among  them, 
in  the  main  and  fundamental  doctrines  and  duties  of 
religion  ? — what  was  the  natural  tendency  of  their  seve- 
ral doctrines,  in  order  to  the  promoting  of  virtue  and 
goodness  ? — and,  what  influence  they  had  in  their 
several  ages  and  countries,  in  rectifying  the  principles 
and  reforming  the  practices  of  mankind  V  For  all 
which  purposes,  it  is  but  justice  to  them  to  suppose, 
that  they  had  as  great  strength  of  reason  and  judgment, 
as  sincere  a  desire  to  find  out  the  truth,  and  as  great 
diligence  in  inquiring  after  it,  as  any  of  the  enemies  of 
revelation  at  this  day  can  pretend  to.  And  if  it  shall 
appear, — that  they  were  utterly  ignorant  of  many 
important  points  in  religion,  which  revelation  has  dis- 
covered to  us  ; — that  their  knowledge  of  many  others 
was  dark,  uncertain  and  imperfect  ; — that  the  dif- 
ferences among  them,  in  points  of  the  greatest  weight 
and  moment,  were  endless  and  irreconcilable  ; — that 
many  of  them  taught  doctrines,  which  directly  tend  to 
promote  vice  and  wickedness  in  the  world  ; — and,  that 
in  fact,  the  influence  they  had  in  rectifying  the  notions 
and  reforming  the  lives  of  mankind,  was  inconsidera- 
ble :  if,  I  say,  these  things  appear,  they  will  amount  to 
a  full  proof,  that  natural  reason,  of  itself ,  is  not  a  sufii- 
cient  guide  in  matters  of  religion. 

1.  The  ancient  philosophers  were  utterly  ignorant  of 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  69 

many  important  points  in  religion,   which  revelation 
has  discovered  to  us. 

They  were  strangers  to  the  true  account  of  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  and  the  original  of  mankind,  and  to 
God's  administration  of  the  world,  and  intercourse  with 
mankind,  in  the  most  early  ages.  One  sect  of  philo- 
sophers*"  held,  that  the  world  was  eternal,  and  another,* 
that  it  was  made  by  chance ;  and  they  who  believed  it 
had  a  beginning  in  time,  knew  not  by  what  steps,  nor 
in  what  manner  it  was  raised  into  so  much  beauty  and 
order ;  and  so,  for  want  of  a  sure  historical  knowledge 
concerning  this  point,  it  became  a  fit  subject  for  the 
fancy  and  imagination  of  the  poets. 

They  were  sensible  of  a  great  degree  of  corruption 
and  irregularity  in  the  nature  of  man,  but  could  not  tell 
from  what  cause  it  proceeded,  nor  in  what  state  our 
first  parents  came  out  of  the  hands  of  God,  nor  by  what 
means  they  lost  their  original  perfection.  And  the  want 
of  knowing  these  things,  leads  men  of  course  into  end- 
less perplexities,  how  to  reconcile  the  purity  and  per- 
fection of  God  the  Creator,  to  the  uncleanness  and  cor- 
ruption of  man,  the  being  created  ;  and  tempts  them  to 
suppose,  either  that  the  nature  of  God  is  not  pure,  or 
that  the  soul  of  man  is  not  of  a  divine  original. 

Much  less  could  the  light  of  nature  acquaint  them 
with  the  method  He  has  ordained  and  established  for 
the  recovery  of  lost  man; — to  effect  a  reconciliation 
between  God  and  man  ; — to  exercise  his  goodness  with- 
out the  violation  of  his  justice  ; — and  not  only  to  make 
the  pardon  of  sinners  consistent  with  the  wisdom  of  his 
government,  the  honor  of  his  laws,  and  his  hatred  of 
sin,  so  as  to  render  their  salvation  possible,  but  to  give 
them  the  strongest  assurances  of  pardon  and  favor, 
upon  the  plain  conditions  of  faith  and  repentance. 
These  are  things  that  depend  wholly  upon  revelation  ; 
and  without  the  knowledge  of  these,  mankind  must 
remain  in  a  perplexed  and  desponding  state,  as  to  the 
pardon  of  sin,  and  the  favor  of  God.  The  comfort 
they  would  raise  from  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  Gol^ 
is  checked  by  the  consideration  of  his  justice,  and 
nothing  is  able  to  fix  the  guilty  mind  in  a  state  of  solid 


>►  The  Peripatetics.  *  The  Epicureans. 


70  BISHOP  Gibson's 

and  well-grounded  comfort,  but  an  assurance  that  the 
divine  justice  is  satisfied,  and  an  express  declaration  on 
the  part  of  God,  upon  what  terms  and  conditions  he 
will  receive  the  sinner  into  favor. 

Then  as  to  the  public  worship  of  God  :  the  light  of 
nature  might  in  general  suggest  to  men  the  reasonable- 
ness of  joining  in  worship  ;  but  in  what  manner  he 
would  be  worshipped,  and  in  what  way  they  might  per- 
form a  service  that  would  be  acceptable  to  him,  was 
understood  to  be  a  point  which  the  wit  and  penetration 
of  man  could  not  fix  and  determine.  Insomuch,  that 
the  founders  of  states  and  kingdoms,  who  undertook  to 
settle  civil  administrations  by  the  rules  of  human  pru- 
dence, found  it  necessary  to  ground  their  schemes  of 
religion  upon  pretended  revelations,  as  the  only  way 
to  2:ive  them  a  proper  sanction,  and  the  people  an 
assurance,  that  their  religious  performances  would  be 
accepted. 

The  points  of  knowledge  mentioned  under  this  first 
head,  are  evidently  such  as  the  philosophers  were 
wholly  ignorant  of,  as  not  falling  within  the  compass 
of  human  reason  in  its  corrupt  state  ;  and  the  import- 
ance of  them  to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  mankind, 
shows  the  vast  advantage  we  receive  from  revelation, 
— in  removing  many  doubts  and  difficulties  which 
would  otherwise  arise  concerning  the  nature  and  attri- 
butes of  God, — in  showing  us  the  true  state  of  our  own 
original  and  condition, — and  in  acquainting  us  in  the 
clearest  manner,  upon  what  terms,  and  by  what  ser- 
vices, we  may  be  sure  of  his  favor  and  acceptance. 
To  all  which  we  may  add,  as  another  point  above  the 
reach  of  human  reason, — the  comfortable  promise  He 
has  made  us  of  supernatural  aid  and  assistance  in  our 
sincere  endeavors  to  perform  what  he  has  revealed  to 
be  his  will,  in  order  to  render  ourselves  acceptable  to 
him. 

2.  The  knowledge  which  the  philosophers  had  of 
several  important  points  of  religion,  was  dark,  imper- 
fect, and  uncertain. 

Many  of  them,  and  those  of  the  greatest  note,  laid 
it  down  for  a  general  maxim, — that  all  things  were  un- 
certain,— that  truth  lay  buried  in  a  deep  abyss, — and, 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  71 

that  the  furthest  that  human  wit  and  understanding 
could  go  in  search  of  it,  was  no  more  than  probability 
and  conjecture  :^  and  accordingly  we  find  the  wisest 
among  them  plainly  intimating  the  need  there  was  of  a 
divine  revelation,  to  give  mankind  a  full  and  certain 
knowledge  of  their  dutyJ  But  supposing  them  to  have 
been  able  to  lay  out  all  the  duties  and  offices  of  life  in 
the  clearest  manner ;  that  which  disabled  them  from 
reforming  the  world  aiW  obliging  men  to  attend  to  their 
duty,  was  the  uncertainty  they  were  under  about  the 
great  and  only  effectual  motives  to  it,  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  and  a  future  account. 

Cicero"-  enumerating  the  opinions  of  philosophers 
upon  this  head,  not  only  asserts  what  every  one  knows 
to  be  true,  that  the  whole  sect  of  Epicureans  disbelieved 
the  soul's  immortality,  but  adds,  that  many  of  the  most 
learned  philosophers  were  of  the  same  opinion  :  and  he 
particularly  mentions  two  of  great  note  among  them  ; 
one,  who  in  his  writings  had  avowedly  argued  against 
it;  and  another  who  had  professedly  written  three 
books  to  confute  it.  He  tells  us  further,  that  though 
the  Stoics  believed  that  the  soul  remained  after  death 
for  some  time,  yet  they  did  not  believe  it  was  immortal. 
And  even  Socrates  and  Cicero,  who  were  peculiarly 
favorable  to  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
do  yet  discover  some  doubt  and  uncertainty  about  it. 

Socrates,  a  little  before  his  death,  tells  his  friends," 
'  He  had  good  hope  of  some  sort  of  being,  when  this 
life  was  at  an  end  ;'  but  after  that,  he  speaks  doubtfully, 
and  says,  '  Though  he  should  be  mistaken,  he  did  at 
least  gain  this  much,  that  the  expectation  of  it  made 
him  less  uneasy  v/hile  he  lived,  and  his  error  would  die 
with  him ;'  and  he  concludes,  '  I  am  going  out  of  the 
world,  and  you  are  to  continue  in  it ;  which  of  us  has 
the  better  part,  is  a  secret  to  every  one  but  God.'° 

And  Cicero,  speaking  of  the  several  opinions  con- 
cerning the  nature  and  duration  of  the  sou1,p  says, 
"Which  of  these  is  true,  God  alone  knows  ;  and  which 


It  Cicero  de  Nat.  Deor.  1.  I.    Acad.  Qu.  1. 1.    See  Mmac.  Fel.  p. 
112.  Lactant.  1.  III.  c.  XX. 

1  See  under  the  Third  general  Head.  ^   Tusc.  Quest.  1.  I. 

"  Plato  in  Phced.  o  In  Apol.  Socratis, 

P  Cic,  Tusc.  Quest.  1. 1. 


72  BISHOP  Gibson's 

is  most  probable,  a  very  great  question."  And  he 
introduces  one,  complaining  '  That  while  he  was  read- 
ing the  arguments  for  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  he 
thought  himself  convinced  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  laid  aside 
the  book  and  began  to  reason  with  himself,  his  convic- 
tion was  gone.'  All  which  gave  Seneca  just  occasion 
to  say,'3  "  That  immortality,  however  desirable,  was 
rather  promised  than  proved  by  those  great  men." 
And  if  the  philosophers  doubted  even  of  the  existence 
of  the  soul  after  death,  much  less  could  they  pretend  to 
know  any  thing  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  a 
solemn  day  of  judgment,  and  the  sentence  that  will  be 
finally  pronounced  upon  good  and  bad  men  at  that  day. 
So  far  from  this  that  the  great  argument  by  which  they 
prove  that  death  cannot  properly  speaking  be  called  an 
evil,  is,  '  that  it  either  wholly  extinguishes  our  being,  or 
at  least  leaves  us  such  a  being  as  is  not  subject  to  punish- 
ment or  misery  in  another  state.'  And  they  eased  the 
people  of  those  fears,  by  exploding  the  notion  of  infernal 
torments  prepared  for  the  wicked,  as  mere  dreams  and 
fictions  of  the  poets.'' 

This  uncertainty  about  those  great  and  fundamental 
truths,  was  attended  with  fatal  effects  both  in  princi'ple 
and  'practice.  In  principle,  it  naturally  led  mankind  to 
call  in  question  the  providence,  justice,  and  goodness  of 
God,  when  they  observed  the  prosperity  of  the  v/icked, 
and  the  calamities  of  the  righteous,  without  being  sure 
that  either  of  them  should  suffer  or  be  rewarded  in  an  other 
state ;  or  else  to  doubt,  whether  there  really  was  any 
essential  difference  between  virtue  and  vice,  and  whether 
it  did  not  depend  wholly  upon  the  institution  of  men. 
In  practice,  hope  and  fear  are  the  two  things  which 
chiefly  govern  mankind  and  influence  them  in  their 
actions ;  and  they  must  of  course  govern  and  influence 
more  or  less,  in  proportion  to  the  certainty  there  is, 
that  the  things  feared  and  hoped  for  are  real,  and  the 
rewards  and  punishments  assuredly  to  be  expected. 
And  as  the  corrupt  inclinations  of  human  nature  will 
easily  overcome  any  fear,  the  foundation  of  Avhich  is 
but  doubtful ;  so  those  being  let  loose  and  freed  from 


«i  Sen.  Ep.  102. 

r  Plut.  de  Aud.Poct.  Cic.  Tusc.  CluestA.  I.  Sen.  ad.  Marc,  c,  19. 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  73 

the  apprehension  of  a  future  account,  will  of  course  carry 
men  into  all  manner  of  wickedness.  Nor  is  it  sufficient 
to  say,  that  they  are  under  the  restraint  of  human  laws  ; 
since  it  is  certain,  that  very  great  degrees  of  wicked- 
ness may  both  be  harbored  in  the  heart  and  carried 
into  execution,  notwithstanding  the  utmost  that  human 
authority  can  do  to  prevent  it. 

From  hence  it  appears,  how  great  a  blessing  and 
benefit  it  is  to  mankind,  that  the  Gospel  revelation  has 
given  us  a  full  assurance  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
and  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  another  life,  accord- 
ing to  our  behavior  in  this  :  and  not  only  so,  but  has 
very  particularly  acquainted  us,  who  shall  be  our 
judge  ; — what  the  manner  and  solemnity  of  the  judg- 
ment; — what  is  to  be  the  rule  of  judging; — what  the 
sentence  that  will  be  passed  both  upon  good  and  bad 
men  ; — and  what  will  be  the  state  of  each  in  conse- 
quence thereof.  The  certain  expectation  of  these 
things,  enforced  by  the  assurance  God  has  given  us,  that 
he  takes  notice  of  all  our  thoughts,  words,  and  actions 
in  this  life,  in  order  to  that  future  account,  conduces 
greatly,  or  rather  is  of  absolute  necessity,  to  secure 
the  general  peace  and  order  of  the  world,  as  well  as  to 
preserve  the  virtue  and  innocence  of  particular  persons. 

3.  The  differences  among  the  philosophers  in  points 
of  the  greatest  weight  and  moment,  were  endless,  and 
irreconcilable. 

This  is  a  truth  so  well  known,  and  so  universally 
acknowledged,  that  those  among  us  who  have  the 
greatest  zeal  for  natural  reason  as  a  sufficient  guide  in 
religion,  will  not  deny  the  fact.  A  lively  description 
of  which,  we  find  in  an  ancient  writer  of  the  Church. 
"  Every  sect  of  them  overthrows  all  others,  in  order  to 
establish  itself,  and  can  allow  none  to  be  wise,  because 
by  that  it  would  acknowledge  itself  to  be  foolish  ;  and 
as  it  overthrows  the  rest,  so  is  itself  overthrown  by  the 
rest."*  And  elsewhere,  "  To  what  end  should  we  fight 
against  those  who  are  destroying  one  another?"'  Nor 
can  it  be  said,  that  these  differences  were  only  about 
matters  of  less  consequence ;  since  it  is  notorious,  that 


»  Lactantii  Instit.  c.  4.  *  lb.  «. 

Vol.  v.— 7 


74  BISHOP  Gibson's 

the  most  important  points  in  religion  were  subjects  of 
the  greatest  disputes.  While  some  asserted  the  being 
of  a  God,  others  openly  denied  it ;"  and  others  again 
ran  into  the  notion  of  a  multiplicity  of  gods,  celestial, 
aerial,  terrestrial,  infernal ;'  and  as  every  country  had 
its  peculiar  gods,  so  the  philosophers  made  it  a  general 
rule,  that  every  one  should  worship  the  gods  of  his 
own  country.  While  some  (as  I  have  shown)  were 
willing  to  believe  that  the  soul  was  immortal,  and  that 
they  should  live  in  a  future  state,  others  affirmed  it  to 
be  mortal,  and  to  die  with  the  body.^^  While  some 
affirmed  that  virtue  and  vice,  as  founded  in  the  nature 
of  things,  were  eternal  and  unchangeable ;  it  was  the 
doctrine  of  others,  that  nothing  was  good  or  evil,  just 
or  unjust,  right  or  wrong,  otherwise  than  as  the  laws 
and  customs  of  particular  countries  determined.^  While 
one  secty  affirmed  that  virtue  was  the  sole  good,  and  its 
own  reward  ;  another  sect,^  rejecting  that  notion  in 
the  case  of  virtue  in  distress,  made  the  good  things  of 
this  life  a  necessary  ingredient  of  happiness  ;  and  a 
third""  set  up  pleasures^  or  at  least  indolence  and  a  free- 
dom from  pain,  as  the  final  good  that  men  ought  to 
propose  to  themselves  :  upon  which  differences  Tully 
very  justly  observes,  "  That  they  who  do  not  agree  in 
stating  what  is  the  chief  end  or  good,  must  of  course 
differ  in  the  whole  system  of  precepts  for  the  conduct  of 
life."t  Again,  while  many  of  them  thought  it  reason- 
able to  believe,  that  the  general  order  and  government 
of  the  world  could  not  be  maintained  without  the 
superintendence  of  some  superior  power ;  one  whole 
sect^  absolutely  denied  a  providence  ;  others'^  acknoAv- 
ledged  no  more  than  a  general  providence'^  which  did 
not  respect  particular  beings  ;   others,  who    oMned  a 


1  Cia  de  Nat.  Deorr.  1. 1. 

^  PtATO  fZe  Leg.  1.  IV.  Epict.  Bnclx.  c.  38.  Cic.  rfe  Nat.  Deor, 
1.  III.  dc  Leg.  1.  II. 

w  DiOG.  Laert.  1.  II.  p.  89. 134. 138 ;  1.  IX.  p.  581 ;  1.  X.  p.  G71. 

X  Max  .Tyr.  Diss.  1 ;  Skn.  Ep.  L  X.  p.  97.  303. 

J  The  Stoics.  ■'■  The  Aristotelians,  or  Peripatetics. 

'  The  Epicureans.  ^  Cic.  Acad.  Quest.  1. 1,  de  Fin.  1.  V, 

c  The  Epicureans.  d  The  Aristotelians. 

•  Pr,UT.  dc  Plauiis.  1.  II.  c.  3 ;  DioG.  Laert.  1.  V. ;  Philos.  Arrian. 
1. 1,  c.  12. 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  75 

particular  providence,  extended  it  only  to  greater^  mat- 
ters, while  the  less,  in  their  opinion,  were  neglected ; 
others  again  denied  the  omniscience"  of  God,  which  was 
little  less  than  the  denial  of  a  providence  as  to  the  ef- 
fects it  ought  to  have  upon  the  behavior  of  mankind. 
And  while  some  talked  of  their  gods  taking  vengeance 
upon  the  bad  and  rewarding  the  good,  in  order  to  deter 
men  from  wickedness  and  excite  them  to  goodness  • 
others  exploded  the  notion  of  the  gods  being  pleased'' 
or  displeased  on  any  account,  and  by  that,  entirely  re- 
moved out  of  the  minds  of  men  the  desire  of  pleasing 
and  the  fear  of  displeasing  them,  and  all  thoughts  of 
praying  to  them,  or  thanking  them,  for  the  benefits  they 
either  wanted,  or  enjoyed.  Upon  which  it  is  justly  ob- 
served by  an  ancient  Christian  writer,'  that  if  this  prin- 
ciple, of  God's  being  neither  pleased  nor  displeased, 
were  true,  there  must  be  an  end  of  all  religion  ;  since 
it  leaves  no  foundation  either  for  honoring  or  fearing 
the  Deity.  And  yet  it  is  said'-^  to  have  been  the  univer- 
sal opinion  of  philosophers  (not  only  of  those  who 
thought  that  God  did  not  concern  himself  with  human 
affairs,  but  of  those  who  believed  he  did,)  that  he  was 
neither  angry  with  men,  nor  would  punish  them. 

These  and  the  other  differences  among  them,  which 
would  fill  volumes,  are  not  mentioned  as  any  reproach 
to  the  philosophers  in  point  of  ability  and  understand- 
ing, since  it  happened  no  otherwise  to  them  than  it  al- 
ways will  do  to  any  number  of  men  who,  in  this  cor- 
rupt state  of  things,  will  depend  upon  themselves  alone 
in  matters  of  religion.  But  I  mention  them  to  show 
the  weakness  and  folly  of  those  who,  because  the  phi- 
losophers now  and  then  indulged  themselves  in  specu- 
lations of  a  divine  nature,  would  send  us  to  them  for  a 
complete  and  uniform  scheme  of  religion  ; — who,  from 
their  having  laid  down  many  useful  rules  grounded  upon 
the  natural  connexion  of  things  as  they  appear  in  daily 
experience  and  observation,  in  order  to  the  wise  con- 
duct of  human  affairs,  and  our  peace  and  happiness  in 


f  Cic.de  \at.  Dear.  1.  II.  and  III. 

«  CiG.  de  Nat.  Dear.  1.  I. ;  De  Div.  1.  II. ;   De  Fato  ;   MiN.  Ffit. 
g.  10. 

•»  Lact.  rfe  Ira ;  Orig.  Contra  Cels.  1.  IV. 

1  Lact.  de  Ira,  c.  6.  *  Cic.  de  Office.  1.  Ill, 


76  BISHOP  GIBSON^S 

this  life,  would  infer  that  they  are  therefore  proper  and 
sufficient  guides  to  our  happiness  in  the  next ; — and 
who,  in  reality,  under  this  pretext,  are  doing  all  they 
can  to  gratify  and  encourage  the  voluptuous  part  of 
mankind,  by  discharging  them  from  all  regard  to  the 
laws  of  Christ  (which  have  the  sanction  of  divine  au- 
thority, and  against  which  there  can  be  no  objection, 
but  that  they  are  too  pure  for  appetites  so  much  vitia- 
ted and  depraved,)  and  leaving  them  to  form  a  religion 
for  themselves  out  of  this  or  that  philosopher,  whose 
maxims  and  doctrines  they  can  best  relish  ;  the  wisest  of 
which,  (how  sublime  soever  some  of  the  thoughts  may 
seem,)  were  no  more  than  the  imaginations  and  conjec- 
tures of  fallible  men. 

But  be  their  schemes  of  religion  what  they  would, 
these  two  things  are  certain  ; — that  no  one  philosopher 
had  more  right  than  another  to  impose  his  scheme  upon 
mankind  ; — and  that,  setting  aside  revelation,  no  one 
person  at  this  day  has  any  authority  to  determine  amidst 
so  many  different  and  contradictory  opinions,  which  of 
the  philosophers  was  in  the  right,  and  which  in  the 
wrong.  Upon  this  foot,  therefore,  the  greatest  part  of 
mankind  are  left  in  a  state  of  endless  perplexity,  without 
ability  to  determine  for  themselves,  and  without  any 
certain  guide  on  whose  determination  they  may  safely 
rely.  And  this  made  one  of  the  best  and  wisest  among 
them  say,  "  that  error  was  so  mixed  with  truth,  and  oft- 
times  with  such  likeness  to  each  other,  that  there  was 
no  way  left  to  determine  the  judgment  ;"^  and  "  that 
it  would  be  time  enough  to  blame  the  skeptic  philosophy 
which  doubted  of  every  thing,""  when  either  the  rest  of 
the  philosophers  were  agreed,  or  some  one  should  be 
found  who  could  ascertain  the  truth.""  Which  shows 
tlie  great  advantage  of  a  divine  revelation,  as  well  to 
ascertain  our  duty,  as  to  engage  our  attention  and  re- 
gard to  it ;  to  give  all  men,  great  and  small,  learned 
and  unlearned,  a  sure  rule,  and  a  clear  view,  of  all  they 
are  to  do,  and  effectually  to  engage  them  in  a  steady 
and  uniform  pursuit  of  the  great  end  that  such  a  revela* 
tion  proposes. 


'  Cic.de  Nat.  Deor.  1. 1.  «n  Ibid. 

n  The  Academics. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  7t 

By  attending  to  the  matters  wherein  the  philosophers 
differed,  we  see  clearly  that  they  were  points  which 
concerned  the  very  being  of  religion  and  virtue  ;  and 
that  those  differences  rendered  the  motives  and  obligai- 
tions  to  both,  precarious  and  uncertain.  And  this  shows 
how  unjust  the  objection  is  which  infidels  raise,  upon 
this  head,  from  the  different  opinions  among  Christians, 
and  the  several  sects  and  denominations  formed  upon 
those  differences.  As  long  as  men  are  men,  and  have 
different  degrees  of  understanding,  and  every  one  a  par- 
tiality to  his  own  conceptions,  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  they  should  agree  in  any  one  entire  scheme  and 
every  part  of  it,  in  the  circumstances  as  well  as  the 
substance,  in  the  manner  of  things  as  well  as  in  the 
things  themselves.  The  question,  therefore,  is  not  in 
general  about  a  difference  in  opinion,  which,  in  our 
present  state,  is  unavoidable,  but  about  the  weight  and 
importance  of  the  things  wherein  Christians  differ  and 
the  things  wherein  they  agree.  And  it  will  appear 
that  the  several  denominations  of  Christians  agree  both 
in  the  substance  of  religion,  and  in  the  necessary  en- 
forcements of  the  practice  of  it : — that  the  world  and 
all  things  in  it  were  created  by  God,  and  are  under  the- 
direction  and  government  of  his  all-powerful  hand,  and 
all-seeing  eye  ; — that  there  is  an  essential  difference 
between  good  and  evil,  virtue  and  vice  ;  that  there  will 
be  a  state  of  future  rewards  and  punishments  according 
to  our  behavior  in  this  life  ; — that  Christ  was  a  teach- 
er sent  from  God,  and  that  his  apostles  were  divinely 
inspired  ; — that  all  Christians  are  bound  to  declare  and 
profess  themselves  to  be  his  disciples  ; — that  not  only 
the  exercise  of  the  several  virtues,  but  also  a  belief  in 
Christ  is  necessary  in  order  to  their  obtaining  the  par- 
don of  sin,  the  favor  of  God,  and  eternal  life  ; — that  the 
worship  of  God  is  to  be  performed  chiefly  by  the 
heart,  in  prayers,  praises,  and  thanksgivings  ; — and  as  to 
all  other  points,  that  they  are  bound  to  live  by  the  rule* 
which  Christ  and  his  apostles  have  left  them  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures. — Here,  then,  is  a  fixed,  certain,  and 
uniform  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  containing  all  the 
most  necessary  points  of  religion,  established  by  a  di- 
vine sanction,  embraced  as  such  by  all  denominations 
of  Christians,  and  in  itself  abundantly  sufficient  to  pre=v 
T 


78  BISHOP  GIBSON^S 

serve  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  religion  in  the 
world.  As  to  points  of  greater  intricacy,  and  which 
require  uncommon  degrees  of  penetration  and  know- 
ledge ;  such  indeed  have  been  subjects  of  dispute 
among  persons  of  study  and  learning  in  the  several 
ages  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  but  the  people  are  not 
obliged  to  enter  into  them,  so  long  as  they  do  not  touch 
the  foundations  of  Christianity,  nor  have  an  influence 
upon  practice.  In  other  points  it  is  sufficient  that  they 
believe  the  doctrines,  so  far  as  they  find,  upon  due  in- 
quiry and  examination  according  to  their  several  abili- 
ties and  opportunities,  that  God  has  revealed  them. 

Now  this  is  a  state  of  things  very  different  from  that 
of  the  Heathen  world  ;  in  which  their  teachers  differed 
about  the  most  important  points  in  religion  :  and  while 
no  one  could  claim  an  authority  from  God,  nor  any 
right  to  require  an  assent  to  his  doctrines,  the  generality 
of  people  had  no  certain  test  to  try  them  by,  nor,  by 
consequence,  any  means  to  deliver  themselves  out  of  a 
maze  of  endless  doubt  and  uncertainty ;  which  is  well 
expressed  by  an  ancient  writer,"  in  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion, did  the  philosophers  then  teach  nothing  that  was 
right  ?  "  Yes,"  says  he,  "  many  things  ;  but  their  pre- 
cepts have  no  weighty  because  they  are  human,  and 
w^ant  a  divine  sanction."  They  are  not  believed,  be- 
cause "  he  who  hears,  thinks  himself  a  man,  as  well  as 
he  who  teaches." 

4.  The  philosophers  taught  doctrines  which  directly 
tend  to  encourage  vice  and  wickedness  in  the  world. 

Of  this  sort  were  the  notions  already  mentioned,  con- 
cerning Providence,  and  the  omniscience  and  omnipre- 
sence of  God;  and  their  denying  that  he  was  either 
pleased  or  displeased  with  mankind,  and  their  resolvinir 
the  distinctions  between  good  and  evil  into  human  au^ 
thority  and  appointment.  Such  also  was  the  doctrine 
of  fate,  or  men's  doing  every  thing  through  necessity, 
and  not  by  choice,  which  takes  away  all  virtue  and  vice, 
and  leaves  no  place  for  rewards  or  punishments  either 
here  or  hereafter  :  and  yet  this  was  the  avowed  doctrine 
of  one  famous  sect?  among  them.  And  the  prevalency 
"f  this  doctrine  of  fate  in  the  Heathen  world,  together 

"  Lactant.  Instit.  1.  II.  c.  27.         p  The  Stoics. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  79 

with  the  pernicious  influence  it  naturally  has  upon  vir- 
tue and  religion,  was  the  reason  why  the  ancient  fathers 
of  the  Christian  Church  took  so  much  pains  in  their 
several  writings  to  confute  and  expose  it. 

Nor  did  they  only  hold  principles  destructive  of  vir- 
tue, hut  also  maintained  practices  of  a  very  vile  and  cor- 
rupt nature.  Plato'^  taught  the  expedience  and  lawful- 
ness of  exposing*"  children  in  particular  cases,  and  Aris- 
totle' also  of  abortion.  At  Athens,  the  great  seat  and 
nursery  of  philosophers,  it  was  laid  down  for  a  rule  that 
infants  which  appeared  to  be  maimed  should  either  be 
killed  or  exposed  ;  and  that  the  Athenians  might  lawful- 
ly invade'  and  enslave  any  people,  who,  in  their  opinion, 
were  fit  to  be  made  slaves.  Many  of  the  philosophers 
maintained  the  lawfulness  of  self-murder."  Not  only 
the  Epicureans  and  others,  but  even  Plato  himself  al- 
lowed fornication,  and,  which  is  more  shocking,  a  com- 
munity of  wives  \^  and  the  most  famous  among  them 
were  known  not  only  to  approve  but  practise  unnatural 
lust."^  To  which  we  may  add  the  Cynics,  who,  laying 
aside  the  natural  restraints  of  shame  and  modesty,  com- 
mitted the  acts  of  lust  like  brute  beasts,  openly,  and  in 
the  sight  of  the  sun  ;  and  the  Stoics,  who  held  that  no 
words  or  speech  of  any  kind  ought  to  be  avoided  or 
censured  as  filthy  and  obscene.^ 

These  are  principles  and  doctrines  by  which  many  of 
the  philosophers,  and  those  of  greatest  note,  let  men 
loose  from  the  obligations  of  duty,  and  gave  them  full 
liberty  to  indulge  their  brutal  appetites,  and  degrade 
human  nature  into  that  of  beasts,  while  they  were  filling 
their  heads  with  fine  notions  and  exalted  speculations. 
And  as  these  indulgences,  so  agreeable  to  the  corrupt 
tions  of  nature,  plainly  account  for  that  zeal  which  is 
shown  for  reason  and  philosophy  as  our  best  guides  in 
reHgion  :  so  the  great  objection  against  the  Gospel  re- 

1  Plat,  de  Rep.  1.  V.  r  Casting  out,  to  perish. 

s  Arist.  Polit.  I.  VII.  c.  16;  ibid.  I.  VII.  c.  17. 

t  Ibid.  1.  II.  c.  14. 

"  Arist.  Polit.  1.  VII.  c.  16 ;  Cic.  de  Finibus,  1.  I. ;  Sen.  Epist. 
13.  28.  58.  70. 

V  Cic.  pro  CcbHo]  Plat.  Conviv. — de  Leg.  1.  VIII. ;  Athen.  1.  XIII. 

*■  Athen.  1.  XIII. ;  Lucian.  de  Amore  ;  Plutarch,  de  Lib^  Educ. 
Cic.  Tusc.  Quest.  1.  IV. 

X  Cic.  Epist.  ad  Fam.  1.  IX.  Ep.  26. 


velation  is,  that  it  expressly  forbids  uncleanness  of  all 
kinds,  whether  in  thought  or  deed,  as  that  which  above 
all  other  things  poisons  and  corrupts  the  soul,  and 
makes  it  utterly  unlit  for  the  spiritual  joys  and  delights 
of  the  next  world  ;  for  which  the  pure  precepts  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  daily  practise  of  them,  are  designed  to 
prepare  us. 

5.  In  fact,  the  influence  which  the  ancient  philoso- 
phers had  in  reforming  mankind  was  inconsiderable. 

Idolatry  was  universally  practised  throughout  the 
Heathen  world,  and  the  worship  of  the  gods  consisted 
of  the  most  filthy,  absurd,  and  abominable  rites  : — 
strumpets  running  up  and  down  the  streets  naked,  with 
obscene  speeches  and  wanton  gestures  ;y — men  inflam- 
ing themselves  with  wine,  and  after  that  in  the  dark 
satisfying  their  lust  promiscuously  among  a  number  of 
women  :^ — temples  erected  to  a  goddess^  as  the  patron- 
ess of  lust,  and  she  ministered  unto  by  lewd  women, 
who  prostituted  themselves  before  her,  and  dedicated 
their  gain  to  her  : — with  other  instances  of  obscenity, 
too  gross  to  be  mentioned,  and  yet  avowedly  made  a 
part  of  their  religious  rites.  And  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered that  uncleanness  of  almost  every  kin-d  was  freely 
and  openly  practised  among  them,  when  their  worship 
consisted  of  it,  and  their  philosophers  taught  it  both  by 
their  doctrine  and  their  practice.''  The  oblation  of  hu- 
man sacrifices  to  their  gods  was  frequently  practised  ; 
nor  was  their  own  o/sp?*//?^- spared  upon  some  occasions. 

Nothino-  could  be  more  cruel  and  barbarous  than  to 

take  pleasure  in  seeing  men  murder  and  destroy  one 
another,  which  yet  was  avowedly  practised  in  their 
public  shows,  and  persons  were  trained  up  to  that  in- 
human exercise,  and  permitted  to  hire  themselves  out 
to  the  work  ;  and  it  is  afiirmed  by  one  who  wrote  an  en- 
tire discourse  upon  the  subject,'  that  even  war  itself  did 
not  occasion  so  great  a  destruction  of  men^s  lives  as 
those  shows  which  they  instituted  for  public  diversion. 
— Nor  in  private  life  can  we  reasonably  hope  or  expect 
to  find  among  them  the  great  virtues  of  love,  meekness, 

y  In  the  Floralia.  *  In  the  Bacchanalia. 

a  Venus.  ''  See  under  the  preceding  head. 

e  Lipsu  Satvrnaiia,  1.  I.  c.  12. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  81 

and  forgiveness,  when  we  find  Socrates  declaring  it 
neither  unjust  nor  revengeful  to  rejoice  in  the  calamities 
of  our  enemies  ;'^  and  Cicero  expressly  approving  and 
professing  revenge  ;^  and  Aristotle  speaking  of  meek- 
ness not  only  as  a  defect  of  the  mind,  and  as  carrying 
in  it  too  great  a  disposition  to  forgive,  but  calling  the 
patient  enduring  of  reproach,  the  spirit  of  a  slaved 

When  our  Saviour  came  into  the  world,  and  for 
some  time  before,  human  knowledge  of  all  kinds,  and 
particularly  the  study  of  philosophy,  was  cultivated  and 
improved  in  the  Roman  empire,  with  the  greatest  ap- 
plication, and  by  the  ablest  hands.  But  how  little  effect 
either  theirs  or  the  writings  of  the  Greek  philosophers 
had  upon  the  generality  of  mankind,  may  be  learnt 
from  St.  Paul's  account  of  the  state  of  the  Heathen 
world,  and  the  cautions  he  gives  the  Christian  converts 
against  their  Avicked  and  abominable  practices.  "  This 
I  say,  therefore,  and  testify  in  the  Lord,  that  ye  hence- 
forth walk  not  as  other  Gentiles  walk,  in  the  vanities 
of  their  mind ;  having  the  understanding  darkened, 
being  alienated  from  the  life  of  God,  through  the  igno- 
rance that  is  in  them,  because  of  the  blindness  of  their 
hearts  ;  who,  being  past  feeling,  have  given  themselves 
over  unto  lasciviousness,  to  work  all  uncleanness  with 
greediness. s  And  again,  "  Have  no  fellowship  with  the 
unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather  reprove  them  ; 
for  it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak  of  those  things  which 
are  done  of  them  in  secret ;"'»  i.  e.  in  the  celebration  of 
several  of  their  rites  and  mysteries,  which  was  accom- 
panied with  all  manner  of  lewdness.  And  in  his  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  "Mortify,  therefore,  your  members 
which  are  upon  earth,  fornication,  uncleanness,  inordi- 
nate affection,  evil  concupiscence,  and  covetousness 
which  is  idolatry ;  for  which  things'  sake  the  wrath  of 
God  Cometh  upon  the  children  of  disobedience  ;  in  the 
which  ye  also  walked  some  time,  when  ye  lived  in 
them."'  Agreeably  to  this,  St.  John  tells  us,  that  ex- 
cept the  professors  of  Christianity,  *'  the  whole  world 

'J  Plato,  Phileb. 

•  Cic.  de  Offic.  1.  III. ;   Tusc.  Quest.  1.  III. ;  Ep.  ad  Attic.  I.  IX. 

f  Arist.  Ethicoi'.  1.  IV.  c.  11, 

e  Ephes.  iv.  17,  18,  19.  h  Ephes.  v.  11, 12, 

i  Col.  ui.  5,  6,  7. 


lay  in  wickedness  ;"'f  and  St.  Paul,  speaking  of  the 
Gentile  world  in  general  as  living  under  the  law  of 
nature,  and  having  mentioned  unnatural  lust  as  common 
among  them,  goes  on  and  tells  us  that  they  were  "filled 
with  all  unrighteousness,  fornication,  wickedness,  covet- 
ousness,  maliciousness  ;  full  of  envy,  murder,  debate, 
deceit,  malignity,  whisperers,  backbiters,  haters  of  God, 
despiteful,  proud,  boasters,  inventors  of  evil  things, 
disobedient  to  parents,  without  understanding,  cove- 
nant-breakers, without  natural  afiection,  irnplacable, 
unmerciful."'  St.  Peter  also,  exhorting  the  Gentiles 
who  had  been  converted  to  Christianity  to  live  as  be- 
came their  new  profession,  tells  them,  that  "  the  time 
past  of  their  life  may  suffice  them  to  have  wrought  the 
will  of  the  Gentiles,  in  which  they  walked  in  lascivious- 
ness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine,  revellings,  banquetings,  and 
abominable  idolatries. ""» 

And,  in  truth,  between  the  corruptions  of  human 
nature,  and  the  inability  of  the  philosophers  to  reform 
them,  we  are  not  to  wonder  that  the  Heathen  world  had 
grown  by  degrees  to  such  a  pitch  of  wickedness.  The 
philosophers  in  the  several  ages  were  but  few ; — the 
numbers  who  repaired  to  them  for  instruction,  were 
small  in  comparison,  and  their  instructions  confined  to 
their  own  scholars,  who  were  usually  persons  only  of 
fortune  and  distinction  ; — the  generality  of  the  people 
had  no  opportunity  to  be  instructed  by  them,  nor  if 
they  had,  were  they  able  to  understand  and  enter  into 
the  many  dark  and  abstruse  notions  of  their  instructers  ; 
— the  public  rites  of  worship,  which  the  people  did 
attend,  consisted  wholly  of  the  ceremonies  performed 
by  their  priests,  without  any  moral  instructions  or  les- 
sons of  duty  ; — though  the  philosophers  had  been  more 
clear,  few  of  them  had  schemes  of  religion  and  duty,  or 
any  more  than  scattered  notions  of  morality,  added  to 
some  private  and  singular  tenets  to  distinguish  them 
from  other  sects : — though  ihey  had  given  schemes 
entire  and  uniform,  they  had  not  sufficient  authority 
either  to  command  attention,  or  require  obedience ; — 
or,   whatever  authority  any  one  had,  it  was    greatly 


k  1  John  i.  5.  I  Rom.  i,  26,  27.  99,  30,  31. 

">  I  Pet.  iv,  3, 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  83 

diminished  by  the  endless  disputes  among  the  philo- 
sophers themselves; — and  though  they  had  been  quali- 
fied to  teach  in  all  other  respects,  little  fruit  was  to  be 
expected  from  teaching",  where  it  was  not  accompanied 
with  good  living.  Which  last  defect  is  noted  by  Tully, 
in  this  remarkable  passage  ;  "  Scarce  any  of  the  philo- 
sophers," says  he,  "  are  formed  in  mind  and  manners, 
according  to  the  dictates  of  reason  ;  scarce  any,  who  do 
not  make  their  institutions  rather  an  ostentation  of 
knowledge,  than  a  rule  of  life ;  scarce  any,  who  obey 
themselves,  and  are  governed  by  their  own  precepts."" 
And  so  Aristotle,  long  before,  represented  the  scholars 
of  the  philosophers,  as  learning  to  wrangle  rather  than 
to  live ;  and  being  no  more  bettered  by  the  moral  les- 
sons of  their  masters,  than  sick  men  would  be  by  the 
discourses  of  their  physician  without  taking  his  pre- 
scriptions."^ To  the  same  purpose,  Quintilian  speaks 
of  the  philosophers  of  his  own  time,  that  "  the  most 
notorious  vices  were  screened  under  that  name  ;  and 
that  they  did  not  labor  to  maintain  the  character  of 
philosophers  by  virtue  and  study,  but  concealed  very 
vicious  lives  under  an  austere  look  and  a  different  habit 
from  the  rest  of  the  world."? 

But  there  is  yet  another  way  of  judging  what  the 
state  of  religion  in  any  country  is  like  to  be,  where 
natural  reason  is  their  only  guide  ;  and  that  is,  from 
the  notions  and  practices  that  have  been  found  among 
people  who  were  unknown  to  the  ancients,  by  the  later 
discoveries  of  countries,  and  by  others  who  have  tra- 
velled into  those  countries.  A  collection  of  that  sort 
has  been  lately  made,  out  of  books  of  travels  and  other 
authentic  accounts,  by  a  faithful  and  judicious  hand  ;4 
and  to  let  you  see  more  clearly  and  at  one  view  how 
absurd  and  abominable  they  were,  I  have  here  reduced 
them  to  their  several  heads,  of  worship,  doctrine,  and 

PRACTICE. 

As  to  their  worship,  it  may  be  truly  said  in  general 
that  idolatry  has  been  found  in  almost  every  country 
that  has  been  discovered,  and  in  many  of  them  rites  of 


"  Cic.  Ti-sc.  Qluest.  I.  II,  o  Arist.  Ethic.  1.  II,  c,  3.         P  Q,uiN- 

TIL.  Inst.  1.  I.  Prsef.         q  Millab,  Propagation  of  Christianity^  c.  7. 


84  BISHOP  Gibson's 

worship  very  wicked  and  abominable.  In  somc^  they 
were  performed  by  women,  who,  in  performing  them, 
laid  aside  all  natural  shame  and  modesty ;  and  in  others,' 
women  prostituted  themselves  for  the  maintenance  of 
their  idol,  and  in  honor  of  it.  In  some  places*  the  peo- 
ple cut  off  pieces  of  their  own  flesh  and  threw  them  to 
their  idol  ;  and  in  many  others"  they  were  found  to  of- 
fer human  sacrifices,  and  vast  numbers  of  them  at  a 
time.  The  objects  of  their  worship  were  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars,''  the  four  elements,'*'  the  several  quarters  of 
the  earth, »  apes,y  elephants,^  serpents,  vipers,  dragons, 
tigers,  herbs,  trees,*  birds,  fishes,  mountains,^  and,  in 
many  places,  evil  spirits. «  And  together  with  their  ido- 
latrous worship,  sorcery,  divination,  and  magic,'^  were 
found  to  be  common  among  them. 

Among  their  doctrines,  and  heads  of  belief,  were 
found  these  that  follow  :  two  gods,  one  of  heaven,  the 
other  of  earth  ;^  two  sorts  of  gods,  demons  to  be  feared 
and  conquerors  and  benefactors  to  be  honored  ;^  scve- 
ral  gods  presiding  over  several  quarters  of  the  earth  ;» 
one  god  above  the  rest,  becoming  so  by  first  passing 
through  a  multitude  of  bodies  ;'^  gods  subject  to  various 
changes,  and  limited  to  certain  times  of  government  ;■ 
providence  concerning  itself  only  about  the  great  affairs 
of  the  world  ;''  the  transfiguration  of  human  souls  into 
the  bodies  of  beasts  ;'  pagods  eating  and  drinking  like 
men  ;"  the  souls  of  men,  after  death,  needing  meat  and 
drink,"  and  other  accommodations  of  life. 


r  Formosa,  and  the  Philif)pine  Islands. 

«  Bisnagar  and  Nasinga,  in  the  East  Indies  ;  Camdu  in  Tartary. 

'  Bisnagar,  and  Nasinga. 

u  Ceylon ;  Mexico  ;  Peru  ;  Terra  Firma  ;  Virginia. 

^  Tartary  ;  Philippine  Islands ;  Guinea ;  Ausico  and  Jagos  and  Mo- 
nomotapa  (all  in  Africa)  ;  Zocotara,  an  island  near  Africa  ;  Peru  ; 
Terra  Firma  ;  Canada  ;  Florida  ;  Hispaniola ;  Virginia. 

w  Ceylon.  ^  Tonquin,  in  the  East  Indies.  y  Goa.  »  Cey- 
lon,        a  Congo  and  Angola,  in  Africa.         t  Guinea. 

6  Ceylon  ;  Java  ;  Philippine  Islands  ;  .Sithiopia  ;  Virginia. 

d  Tartary  ;  China ;  Terra  Firma  ;  Brazil  ;  Canada  ;  Grenada  ;  His- 
paniola ;  Florida  ;  Virginia ;  New-England. 

«  Tartary.         (  Japan.         ^  Formosa.         >>  Siam.         i  IVI^alabar. 

k  Malabar ;  Ceylon  ;  Japan  ;  Florida. 

1  Indians  ;  Tartars ;  Florida.  >»  The  Bramins. 

»  Tartary  ;  Guinea ;  Terra  Firma ;  Canada. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  85 

Many  practices  have  been  found  among  them  that 
are  abominable;  women  burning  themselves  with  their 
husbands  when  dead  ;s  the  chief  servants  of  a  prince 
killed  at  his  death,  to  attend  him  in  another  world ;'» 
eating  men's  flesh,  and  shambles  for  selling  it ;'  sucking 
up  the  blood  of  wounded  and  dying  persons  ;^  feasting 
upon  the  bodies  of  their  captives  -^^  having  a  number  of 
wives  and  concubines,  and  putting  away  wives  at  plea- 
sure ;'  exposing  and  killing  their  children  if  born  under 
an  unhappy  planet,"*  or  born  before  the  mother  was  of 
such  an  age,°  or  if  the  parents  found  themselves  over- 
charged," 

These  and  the  like  instances  of  corruption  in  worship, 
doctrine,  and  practice,  which  have  prevailed,  and  do 
still  prevail,  in  several  parts  of  the  Heathen  world,  may 
further  show  the  insufficiency  of  natural  reason  to  be  a 
guide  in  religion,  and  into  what  monstrous  opinions  and 
practices  whole  nations  may  be  led  where  that  is  their 
guide,  without  any  help  from  revelation.  Nor  will  it 
take  off"  the  force  of  tliis  argument  to  say  that  these 
were  owing  to  an  undue  use  of  their  reason  ;  which  is  in 
effect  to  beg  the  question  :  or  that  the  measure  of  reason 
they  had  was  low  and  imperfect ;  since  they  appeared 
to  be  skilful  and  dexterous  enough  in  worldly  matters, 
in  the  arts  of  annoying  their  neighbors  and  defending 
themselves  against  incursions,  in  entering  into  leagues 
for  their  mutual  defence,  and  conducting  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life  according  to  the  manners  and  customs  of 
their  several  countries.  Nor  are  the  absurdities  in  reli- 
gion that  have  been  found  among  them  greater  than 
those  that  have  been  found  among  the  most  polite  na- 
tions before  the  publication  of  the  Gospel  r^  which  are 
a  joint  proof  that  no  age  or  country,  be  it  rude  or  civil- 

^  East  Indies  ;  Guinea.         h  Guinea  ;  Terra  Firma. 
•  Jagos  (in  Africa)  ;  Brazil ;   Hispaniola. 
j  Tartary.         k  Canada. 
J  Almost  every  where  in  Pagan  countries, 

•n  Ceylon.      "  "  Formosa.        »  China. — More  instances  of  the  like 
kind  may  be  seen  in  Mr.  Locke's  Essay,  1. 1,  c.  3.  s.  9. 
1  See  before,  page  69. 

Vol.  v.— 8 


86  BISHOP  Gibson's 

ized,  instructed  or  uninstructed  in  arts  and  sciences, 
infected  or  uninfected  with  plenty  and  luxury,  is  secured 
by  mere  natural  reason  against  falling  into  the  grossest 
errors  and  corruptions  in  religion. 

Hitherto  you  have  seen  the  pernicious  errors  and 
wicked  practices  into  which  the  world  has  fallen  both 
in  ancient  and  later  days,  notwithstanding  the  light  of 
natural  reason,  and  the  lessons  of  philosophers.  But 
as  the  Christian  institution  in  its  nature  and  tendency 
is  far  better  calculated  for  the  reformation  of  mankind 
than  any  teaching  or  discipline  the  world  had  in  the 
days  of  Heathenism,  so  in  fact  it  has  had  a  far  greater 
effect  in  the  advancement  of  true  religion,  and  the  re- 
formation of  the  lives  and  manners  of  men.  Not  to 
insist  upon  the  exalted  degrees  of  purity  and  perfection 
to  which  Christianity  raised  so  many  of  its  first  profes- 
sors,— their  contempt  of  the  world, — their  wonderful 
courage  and  patience  under  persecution, — their  morti- 
fications and  self-denials, — their  fervent  love  and  charity 
and  devotion ;  not,  I  say,  to  insist  upon  these,  though 
the  true  and  genuine  effects  of  Christianity,  because  it 
may  be  said  they  were  effects  of  an  extraordinary  \imdi, 
and  wrought  only  upon  particular  persons  ;  let  us  take 
a  view  of  it,  not  as  it  was  embraced  by  single  persons  or 
families,  but  as  it  became  the  received  religion  of  whole 
countries,  and  see  what  effects  it  had  among  them. 

It  is  universally  true  that  wherever  Christianity  pre- 
vailed, oracles  ceased,  idols  were  destroyed,  and  the 
worship  of  the  true  God  established.  And  whereas  the 
Heathen  worship,  as  we  have  seen,  consisted  of  the  sa- 
crifices of  beasts  and  men,  and  was  accompanied  with 
many  foolish,  cruel,  and  impure  rites,  Christianity  ba- 
nished all  these,  and  wherever  it  was  received,  did  es- 
tablish a  worship  suitable  to  the  pure  and  spiritual  na- 
ture of  God — a  worship  of  the  heart,  consisting  of  pray- 
ers, and  praises,  and  thanksgivings,  to  Him  who  is  the 
author  of  our  being,  and  under  whose  daily  protection 
we  live,  and  who  bestows  upon  us  all  the  good  things 
we  enjoy.  And  there  is  no  Christian  country  wherein 
this  reasonable  service  is  not  solemnly  performed  by 
ministers,  and  attended  by  the  people  ;  to  which,  and  to 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  87 

the  instructions  and  exhortations  of  Christian  preachers, 
ii  is  to  be  ascribed  that  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God, 
and  the  duty  we  owe  him,  is  preserved  to  such  a  de- 
gree upon  the  minds  of  the  generality  of  the  people, 
and  that  several  vices  which  were  not  only  practised 
but  publicly  allowed  in  the  times  of  Heathenism,  are 
scarce  known,  and  never  named  without  abhorrence,  in 
Christian  countries.'"  Nor  can  it  be  said,  with  any  co- 
lor of  reason  or  truth,  that  the  general  order,  regulari- 
ty, and  sense  of  duty,  which  is  found  in  Christian  coun- 
tries at  this  day,  compared  with  the  cruelties,  disorders, 
and  excesses  of  all  kinds,  that  are  generally  practised 
in  Heathen  nations,  is  not  owing  to  the  Christian  insti- 
tution and  worship,  and  to  the  certainty  of  future  re- 
wards and  punishments  that  Christ  brought  to  light ; 
the  sense  of  which  is  preserved  upon  the  minds  of  the 
people  by  such  public  teaching.*     And  though  so  great 


=•  [See  the  remarks  of  Bishop  Sumner  upon  the  beneficial  influence 
of  the  Christian  ministry,  upon  morals  and  the  temporal  happiness  of 
mankind,  in  Standard  Works,  Vol.  II.  p.  198.  ss.,  and  in  his  Evidences^ 
page  293,  Am.  ed. — The  following  eloquent  passage,  from  a  work  not 
generally  accessible  to  the  American  public,  richly  deserves  insertion 
here, 

"  Let  us  look  to  the  lowliest  village  church  in  this  happy  land ;  to  the 
humblest  pastor,  and  the  simplest  flock.  Let  us  remember,  as  we  see 
them  pouring  forth  from  its  humble  portal,  what  words  have  been  on 
all  lips,  what  thoughts  in  many  hearts ;  what  thoughts  of  majesty 
and  holiness,  what  love,  what  reliance,  what  confidence, — and  then,  if 
we  are  not  faithless  to  the  dignity  of  that  soul,  which  though  deterio- 
rated, still  retains  the  stamp  of  its  Maker,  let  us  beUeve,  if  we  can,  that 
no  good  has  been  eflectcd,  no  passion  softened  and  checked,  no  desire 
for  the  graces  of  a  Christian  temper  implanted.  Let  this  sight  be  com- 
pared, not  with  the  population  that  collected,  like  our  barbarous  fore- 
fathers, or  hke  the  savages  of  modern  days,  to  perform  their  bloody 
worship  in  the  sight  of  the  bright  sun,  or  shining  stars  of  heaven;  but, 
with  the  population,  which  poured  forth  from  the  lofty  portals  of  some 
splendid  temple  of  the  polished  Athens,  to  join  in  the  iniquities  of  a 
Bacchanalian  procession ;  or  with  that,  which,  at  this  very  time,  assem- 
bles in  the  distant  realms  of  Hindostan,  sometimes,  for  deed  of  cruelty 
and  deatli,  sometimes,  for  services  so  revolting,  that  the  Bramin  of  bet- 
ter mind,  hides  his  face  for  shame,  and  sheds  the  burning  tear  of  an- 
guish, over  the  infamy  of  that  religion,  of  which  he  is  the  minister  ; — 
let  but  this  comparison  be  made,  and  then  let  it  be  asked,  what  has 
Christianity  done?" — Rose's  Christianity  Always  Progressive^  p.  96, 
s.,  London,  1829.] 

«  ["Let  us  consider  what  must  be  the  necessary  effect  of  that  con- 


88  BISHOP  gibsonV 

is  the  corruption  of  human  nature,  that  notwithstandfng 
those  means  of  instruction  and  those  restraints  from 
wickedness,  many  disorders  and  excesses  are  practised 
in  Christian  countries,  it  is  sufficient  to  our  present 
purpose  that  if  those  means  and  restraints  were  re- 
moved, the  excesses  would  evidently  be  far  greater  and 
more  general  than  they  are ; — that  the  commission  of 
them  among  Christians  is  by  far  less  frequent,  and  is 
attended  with  much  more  caution  and  shame,  than 
among  Heathens  ; — that,  besides  those  general  influ- 
ences of  Christianity,  such  excesses  are  in  some  mea- 
sure balanced  by  the  extraordinary  degrees  of  piety, 
purity,  and  exactness  of  life  and  manners  which  are  ob- 
served by  multitudes  of  people  in  every  Christian  coun- 
try ; — that  the  design  of  the  Christian  institution  was 
not  to  force  men  to  be  good,  but  only  to  propose  fit 
motives  and  proper  encouragements  and  assistances  to 
make  them  so  ; — and  our  Saviour  himself  supposes  that 
in  his  kingdom  here  upon  earth  there  will  always  be 
tares  growing  up  with  the  wheat,  (a  mixture  of  good 
and  bad,)  till  he  himself  shall  make  the  final  separation.^ 
Though  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  it  is  in  it ; 
and  it  is  a  very  unfair  inference,  that  because  wicked- 
ness is  found  in  Christian  countries,  therefore  Chris- 
tianity has  failed  of  its  end." 


victiori  which  Christianity  impresses,  that  an  account  must  hereafter  be 
rendered  before  One,  who  charges  the  very  angels  with  folly,  and  in 
whose  sight  the  heavens  are  themselves  unclean  ; — before  One,  whose 
piercing  eye  looks  into  the  most  secret  chambers  of  the  heart,  and  reads 
even  the  guilty  thought  before  it  has  strengthened  into  crime.  Let  us, 
again,  look  to  the  religions  of  ancient  times,  and  consider  what  crimes 
they  tolerated,  or,  at  least,  marked  by  no  proscription  and  no  infamy — 
and  then,  if  we  are  not  dead  to  all  salutary  conviction  of  the  force  of 
moral  influence,  let  us  estimate,  what  must  be  the  efficacy  of  a  religion, 
which,  teaching  us  a  strict  observance  of  all  the  social  relations  of  life, 
elevates  the  whole  frame  of  morals  ;  which  teaches  us,  not  to  name  the 
very  name  of  vices  once  openly  practised,  and  generally  tolerated  j 
which  forbids  the  heart  to  conceive,  as  well  as  the  Hp  to  utter,  or  the 
hand  to  execute,  any  evil  purpose ;  whicli  proscribes  every  guilty  pas- 
sion, and  urges  on  and  cheers  the  human  heart,  to  all  that  is  lovely,, 
and  pure,  and  gentle,  and  peaceable,  and  of  good  report." — Rose's 
Christianity  Always  Progressive,  p.  98.] 

'  Matt.  xiii.  24. 

»  ["Of  the  most  difficult  conquests  of  Christianity,  a  large  portion  is. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  89 

III.  A  DIVINE  REVELATION  WAS  NOT  ONLY  EXPE- 
DIENT, BUT  HIGHLY  NEEDFUL,  TO  BE  A  SURE  GUIDE 
IN  MATTERS  OF  RELIGION. 

This  follows  from  the  particulars  which  have  been 
treated  of  under  the  last  head,  in  relation  to  the  ancient 
philosophers.  For  it  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  that  the 
most  successful  efforts  of  mere  natural  reason  towards 
the  discovery  of  divine  truths  and  the  duties  to  be  per- 
formed by  us,  with  our  obligations  to  perform  them, 
were  made  by  the  philosophers.  And,  if  they,  after  all 
their  searches,  could  never  tell  in  what  manner  God 
was  to  be  worshipped,  nor  by  what  means  sinners  might 
be  reconciled  to  him,  and  recover  his  favor ; — if  they 
could  never  come  to  a  certain  knowledge  concerning 


overlooked  by  the  human  eye.  While  the  evil  done  in  its  name,  is 
seen  by  all,  and  dwelt  upon  in  triumph  by  the  adversary, — its  pure  and 
holy  conquests  are  often  effected  in  stillness  and  silence ;  in  the  abode 
of  poverty — in  the  obscurity  of  humble  and  retired  life.  Who  is  there 
that  has  seen  a  true  Christian,  in  his  life  and  death  1  Who  that  has 
seen  the  calm  that  sheds  itself  over  that  soul,  where  grace  has  tri- 
umphed over  passion,  where  envy,  and  hatred,  and  pride  are  sounds 
unknown'?  Who  that  has  seen  the  bright  and  holy  glow  of  devotion 
diffused  over  the  countenance  1  Who,  that  has  heard  the  fervid  accents 
of  a  Christian's  prayer'?  Who,  that  knov^^s  the  joys  of  a  Christian's 
communion  with  his  Maker,  the  devout  aspirations  of  a  soul  which  is 
the  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  adorned  and  sanctified  by  his  best  and 
richest  gifts  and  graces  1  Who,  that  has  seen  the  Christian  struggling 
with  the  storms  of  life, — though  cast  down  not  destroyed ;  though  per- 
plexed, not  in  despair;  submitting  with  humble  resignation,  to  the 
correction  of  his  heavenly  Father ;  and  gathering  the  peaceful  fruits  of 
righteousness,  from  the  seed  which  was  sown  in  tribulation  and  tears  1 
And  yet  more,  who,  that  hath  seen  that  sight,  on  which  angels  look 
with  joy ;  that  hallowed  bed,  where  a  Christian  renders  up  his  soul, 
as  to  a  faithful  Creator  ;  where  with  no  vain  display,  no  idle  rapture, 
the  dying  saint,  knowing  of  a  truth,  that  He  is  faithful  who  promised, 
relies,  in  the  last  awful  scene  of  life,  with  humble  confidence  on  that 
hand  which  has  borne  him  up  through  all  the  storms  and  struggles  of 
his  earthly  pilgrimage,  and  which  will  now  cheer  and  comfort  him,  in 
his  passage  through  the  dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death '?  This  is, 
not  what^Christianity  can  do,  but  what  it  does,  day  by  day ;  not  what 
it  does,  for  the  learned  and  enlightened  Christian  only,  but  what  it  does 
to  shed  light  and  joy  over  the  humble  abode  of  the  lowly  and  ignorant, 
I  appeal  to  the  conscience  of  many  a  minister  of  God's  word,  to  bear  me 
witness,  how  often  he  has  stood  beside  the  dying  bed  of  feeble  old  age, 
or  of  youth  in  all  the  withered  blossom  of  its  beauty ;  stood,  not  to 
teach,  but  to  learn  ;  not  to  offer  comfort,  or  to  supply  confidence,— but  to. 
gather  strength,  and  hope,  and  courage,  against  his  own  hour  of  need, 
and  his  owrT great  and  awful  change.  This  all,  is  the  praise  of  the 
Gospel :  this  all,  is  the  triumph,  the  glory,  of  the  religion  of  Christ. 
8* 


90  BISHOP    GIBSON*S 

the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  future  rewards  snd 
punishments,  which  are  the  principal  motives  to  the 
performance  of  our  duty,  and  the  only  motives  Chat 
can  make  it  regarded  by  the  generality  of  mankind ; — 
if  the  differences  among  the  philosophers  concerning 
points  of  the  greatest  importance  in  religion,  were  so 
many,  and  so  eagerly  pursued  by  the  several  sects,  that 
instead  of  informing  mankind  in  their  duty,  they  per- 
plexed and  distracted  them,  and  at  last  left  them  under 
greater  uncertainties  than  they  were  before ;  while  no 
one  had  more  authority  than  another  to  prescribe  a 
fixed  scheme  of  duty  ; — if  many  of  the  philosophers 
mixed  precepts  of  vice  with  their  precepts  of  virtue  ? 


Of  the  countless  thousands,  who  have  so  lived  and  so  died,  what  would 
have  been  the  fate,  in  life  and  in  death,  had  the  Gospel  never  visitett 
the  world,  had  the  Sun  of  righteousness  never  arisen,  with  healing  ort 
his  wings  1  What  but  this,  at  best, — that  the  Christian  graces  of  humi- 
lity, of  meekness,  of  patience,  should  not  have  come  to  support,  to  puri- 
fy, to  elevate,  and  to  bless  them,  in  life, — and  that  in  death,  the  unspeak- 
able pang  of  parting  here,  should  have  been  hushed  by  no  hope 
of  meeting  hereafter  1 — that,  even  if,  at  that  awful  hour,  no  dismay  of 
the  judge  and  the  judgment  crushed  the  sinner's  heart  to  the  dust,  yet, 
that,  to  the  anxious  question,  the  passionate  longing,  the  restless  search 
and  aspiration  after  some  assurance  of  a  future  being,  after  a  continu- 
ance or  renovation  of  a  feeble  and  expiring  spark  of  life, — no  voice 
should  answer,  and  no  hope  should  cheer  1 

If  these  things  be  so,  it  would  be  almost  an  insult,  alike  to  Christian- 
ity and  to  man,  to  inquire  into  facts  ;  to  ask,  if  a  religion,  possessing 
such  moral  influence,  and  such  powerful  motives  to  forbid  and  to  com- 
mand,— has  produced  any  effects.  It  would  be  to  ask,  whether  man 
be  susceptible  of  elevated  thoughts,  of  cheering  hopes,  of  ennobling  joy, 
and  of  salutary  fear.  The  prophet's  vision,  indeed,  the  fervid  desires 
of  a  good  man,  and  the  sanguine  anticipations  of  an  imaginative 
one,  may  doubtless  shadow  forth  a  picture  of  beauty  and  excellence, 
which  cannot  be  realized  in  the  Christian  world.  But  can  we  live  in 
it — with  a  knowledge  of  what  the  boasted  reason  and  strength  of  an- 
cient wisdom  and  morals  could  effect ;  of  the  recklessness  of  the  holy 
daims  of  mao  on  his  brother  man ;  and  of  the  awful  pollution  pervad- 
ing the  whole  tone  of  ancient  society,  and  casting  her  accursed  chains 
even  around  the  poet  and  the  sage, — and  then,  can  we  look  at  the  eflectij 
of  that  systematic  charity  which  owes  its  existence  to  Christianity ;  at 
the  purity  and  sanctity  of  domestic  enjoyments ;  at  the  legible  charac- 
ters in  which  the  sublime  truths  inculcated  by  the  Gospel  are  impress- 
ed on  every  institution  of  public  life,  and  on  the  intercourse  of  man 
with  man,— can  we  look  at  those  things,  and  not  blush  to  question  for  a 
moment  the  salutary  and  blessed  o{)erations  of  the  Gospel  ?" — Rose's 
Christianity  Always  Progressive^  p.  92.  98. 

Sumnkr's  J'Jviderices,  chap,  xii,  may  be  consulted  for  a  just  reucQ- 
sentation  of  this  subject,  with  profit.] 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  91 

— and  if,  in  fact,  under  their  direction  and  discipline, 
the  Heathen  world  and  the  generality  of  mankind  in 
their  several  ages,  remained  in  a  state  of  gross  idolatry, 
uncleanness,  impiety,  and  immorality  of  all  kinds : — it 
follows,  that  either  mankind  must  remain  irrecoverably 
in  a  state  of  ignorance  and  corruption,  or  that  there 
must  be  some  Divine  Revelation  to  help  them  out 
of  it. 

And,  in  truth,  it  is  very  absurd  to  suppose,  that  either 
philosophy,  or  any  thing  but  a  divine  revelation,  could 
do  it.  The  philosophers  plainly  saw  a  great  degree  of 
darkness  and  degeneracy  in  the  mind  of  man ;  their 
sense  of  which  is  well  expressed  by  Tully  :  "  If,"  says 
he,  "  nature  had  so  framed  us,  as  to  give  us  a  full  and 
perfect  view  of  her,  and  an  ability  to  follow  her  as  our 
guide,  then  mankind  would  have  needed  no  other 
teacher.  But  now,  the  light  she  has  given  us  is  no 
more  than  little  sparks,  which  we  quickly  extinguish 
by  corrupt  lives  and  perverse  opinions  ;  so  that  the 
true  light  of  nature  is  nowhere  to  be  found."  And 
then  he  goes  on,  and  says,  "  There  are  in  our  minds 
the  seeds  of  virtue,  by  which  nature  would  conduct  us 
to  happiness,  if  they  were  allowed  to  grow  up.  But 
now,  no  sooner  are  we  born,  but  we  fall  into  a  wretched 
depravity  and  corruption  of  manners  and  opinions."' 
But  though  the  philosophers  clearly  saw  this  corrup- 
tion and  depravity,  how  could  they  find  a  cure  for  it, 
when  they  knew  not  the  cause  of  it  1  The  recovery  of 
mankind  depended  wholly  upon  the  will  and  pleasure 
of  God,  and  the  method  of  it  was  not  to  be  known  but 
by  revelation  from  him.  The  means  whereby  it  was 
to  be  wrought,  was  a  supernatural  assistance  ;  which 
being  his  own  free  gift,  could  not  be  made  known  and 
ensured  by  any  other  hand.  And  therefore  we  find 
two  of  the  greatest  philosophers,  Socrates  and  Plato» 
despairing  of  the  recovery  of  mankind  out  of  a  state  of 
error  and  corruption,  without  some  extraordinary  as- 
sistance from  God.  Socrates,  speaking  to  the  Athe- 
nians of  himself,  tells  them,  "That  when  he  is  gone, 
they  will  fall  into  an  irrecoverable  state,  unless  God 
shall  take  care   of  them,   and  send  them  another  in- 


Cic.  Tuse.  Q,uest.  I  III.  Praef. 


93  BISHOP  Gibson's 

structer.""  And  Plato,  speaking  of  the  wrong  methods 
of  education  among  the  Athenians,  says,  "  That  in  such 
a  state  of  things,  whatever  is  kept  right  and  as  it  ought 
to  be,  must  be  effected  by  a  divine  interposition."  ^  And 
elsewhere,'^  he  introduces  one  of  the  scholars  of  So- 
crates, complaining  how  difficult  it  is  to  discover  the 
truth  by  human  reason,  but  yet  acknowledging  it  to  be 
every  one's  duty  to  employ  it,  and  to  rely  upon  it, 
'  unless  one  could  find  some  more  sure  and  safe  pilot, 
such  as  a  divine  direction  would  be.' 

Bt5t  we  will  suppose — what  is  far  from  being  so — 
that  one  or  other  of  the  philosophers  had  in  their  several 
writings  discovered  the  whole  of  religion  ;  this  would 
not  by  any  means  have  rendered  a  Divine  Revelation 
needless  :  because  whatever  human  reason  pretends  to 
discover,  must  be  judged  by  human  reason  whether  it 
be  true  or  false,  and  it  was  not  likely  the  generality  of 
people  should  be  able  to  make  such  a  judgment,  since 
there  was  scarce  any  one  point  in  which  the  philoso- 
phers themselves  did  not  oppose  and  contradict  one 
another,  while  no  one  pretended  to  have  any  higher 
guide  than  his  own  reason,  nor  by  consequence  any 
right  to  advance  and  establish  his  own  notions  in  oppo- 
sition to  all  the  rest.  So  that,  in  this  case,  it  is  manifest 
there  would  still  have  been  wanting  a  superior  authority 
to  give  a  sanction  to  some  one  scheme ;  which  could 
only  be  given,  either  immediately  by  God,  or  by  some 
person  who  gave  evident  testimonies  of  his  coming 
from  God  :  and  none  of  the  philosophers  pretending  to 
this,  mankind  were  left  to  be  tossed  about  by  contrary 
waves,  without  either  pilot,  or  star,  or  compass,  to  bring 
them  to  their  harbor.^  Some  of  the  philosophers  had, 
indeed,  an  implicit  submission  paid  to  their  dictates,  but 


"  Plato,  Apol.  Socratis.  "  De  Republ.  1.  VI. 

*  Plato  in  Phccdon. 

*  [This  is  precisely  the  point  insisted  on  by  St.  Paul  when  distin- 
guishing the  Gospel  from  the  philosophical  systems  of  the  Heathen ; 
1  Cor.  ii.  7 — 17.  The  one,  he  argues,  is  derived  immediately  from 
God, — is  "the  mind  of  Christ,"  spoken  in  "words  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  tcachclh,"  and  therefore  is  in  no  respect  subject  to  the  decisions 
of  human  reason,  (v.  15,)  but  is  of  itself  delinitive  authority  ;  the  others 
have  no  pretensions  to  acquaintance  with  the  divine  character  and 
counsels,  (v.  11.  14,)  and  arc  o[)en  to  the  scrutiny  of  human  judgment 
and  rest  tor  authority  on  its  decision.] 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  93 

that  was  only  from  their  own  scholars,  who  thought 
themselves  bound  to  maintain  the  doctrines  of  their  sect, 
as  such,  though  without  any  pretence  of  divine  authority 
in  the  founder.  But  the  case  was  otherwise  with  our 
Saviour  :  He  is  said  by  the  evangelists  to  teach  "with 
authority,"  and  to  teach  "  with  power  ;"y  and  he  had  a 
right  so  to  do,  because  he  proved  by  his  miracles  that 
he  had  a  commission  from  God,  and  by  that  he  was 
fully  empowered  to  declare  the  will  of  God,  and  to 
deliver  to  mankind  a  fixed,  certain,  and  indispensable 
rule  of  duty. 

IV.  Mankind  are  obliged  to  INQUIRE,  whether 

ANY  revelation  HAS  BEEN  MADE,  AND  WHAT  EVI- 
DENCES THERE  ARE  OF  ITS  COMING  FROM  GoD. 

If  they  believe  they  are  the  creatures  of  God,  they 
must  think  themselves  bound  to  pay  adoration  to  him 
as  their  Creator,  and  cannot  but  be  concerned  to  know 
in  what  manner  he  will  be  worshipped,  and  what  is  the 
duty  and  homage  that  he  requires  at  their  hands ; — if 
they  believe  that  they  are  dependent  creatures,  and 
need  the  favor  and  protection  of  God,  they  cannot  but 
desire  to  know  in  what  way  they  may  most  please  him, 
and  what  are  the  surest  means  of  obtaining  his  favor ; 
— if  they  believe  that  God  governs  the  world,  and  that 
they  live  under  his  providence,  they  cannot  but  desire 
the  best  light  that  is  to  be  had,  from  his  own  declara- 
tions and  the  examples  of  former  times,  into  the  rules 
of  his  providence,  and  the  ordinary  methods  of  his 
dealings  with  mankind  ; — if  they  believe  a  state  of  future 
rewards  and  punishments  according  to  their  behavior 
in  this  life,  they  cannot  but  desire  to  know,  wdth  the 
utmost  certainty  and  assurance,  what  the  behavior  is 
which  will  secure  the  one,  and  avoid  the  other  :  and  of 
all  these  things  there  can  be  no  knowledge  or  assurance, 
equal  to  that  which  God  himself  gives.  So  that  while 
men,  out  of  a  zeal  for  what  they  call  natural  religion, 
are  unconcerned  whether  God  has  made  any  revelation 
of  his  will  or  not,  they  violate  the  laws  of  nature  in  a 
double  respect ; — first,  by  resisting  that  natural  imprcs- 
sion  which  has  always  carried  men  to  inquire  after  the 


J  Matthew  vu.  29;  Luke  iv,  32. 


94  BISHOP  Gibson's 

declarations  of  God's  will ;  and  then,  by  an  obstinate 
unconcernedness  for  their  own  safety  and  welfare,  con- 
trary to  the  great  and  fundamental  law  of  nature,  self- 
preservation.* 

No  one  who  believes  there  is  a  God,  and  that  he  is  a 
being  of  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  knowledge,  can 
doubt  whether  he  can  make  a  revelation  of  his  will  to 
mankind,  which  may  be  fully  attested  to  come  from 
him,  by  miracles,  and  predictions  of  future  events,  and 
the  like  undeniable  testimonies  of  a  divine  mission.  To 
affirm  this,  would  not  only  be  in  effect  to  deny  a  God, 
but  to  contradict  the  universal  belief  that  we  find  in  all 
ages  and  nations,  of  divine  communications  with  men ; 
which  shows  at  least  the  general  sense  of  mankind,  as 
to  the  possibility  of  the  thing.  And  certainly,  con- 
sidering the  false  and  very  corrupt  notions  the  world 
was  fallen  into  concerning  God  and  his  worship,  and 
the  other  duties  we  owe  him,  notwithstanding  the  ex- 
amples of  some  good  men  in  the  successive  ages,  who 
retained  upon  their  minds  a  sense  of  religion,  and  their 
endeavors  to  convince  mankind  of  the  natural  con- 
nexion there  is  between  virtue  and  happiness,  vice  and 
misery  ;  in  such  circumstances,  it  was  very  agreeable 
to  the  natural  notions  we  have  of  the  divine  goodness 
and  wisdom,  to  suppose  that  he  would  make  a  further 
revelation  to  mankind,  which  might  give  them  a  clearer 
knowledge,  and  a  stronger  sense  of  duty  ; — unless  we 
will  suppose  that  he  had  utterly  abandoned  them. 

They  who  think  it  had  been  most  agreeable  to  the 
divine  wisdom  and  goodness,  to  have  given  mankind 


■'■  [Against  this  dangerous  error  Bishop  Butler  has  directed  the  ad- 
mirable reasoning  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  second  part  of  his  Analogy 
of  Xatural  and  Revealed  Religion.  He  takes  ground  somewhat  difier- 
ent  from  that  occupied  by  Gibson,  viz.  the  general  principles,  that  "  if 
God  has  given  a  revelation  to  mankind,  and  commanded  those  things 
wliich  arc  commanded  in  Christianity  ;  it  is  evident  at  first  sight,  thatlt 
cannot  in  any  wise  be  an  indifferent  matter  whether  we  obey  or  disobey 
those  conmiands  :  unless  we  are  certainly  assured  that  we  know  all 
the  reasons  for  them,  and  that  all  those  reasons  are  now  ceased,  with 
regard  to  mankind  in  general,  or  to  ourselves  in  particular."  And  that 
"  It  is  absolutely  impossible  we  can  be  assured  of  this;  for  our  igno- 
rance of  these  reasons  proves  nothing  in  the  case  ;  since  the  whole 
analog}'  of  nature  shows,  what  is  indeed  in  itself  evident,  that  there 
may  be  infinite  reasons  for  things,  with  which  we  are  not  acquainted."  j 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  95 

one  certain  rule  from  the  beginning,  which  should  have 
been  a  sufficient  guide  to  all  future  generations,  and 
that  the  need  of  a  iieiv  revelation  implies  a  want  of 
knowledge  and  foresight  in  God  ;  seem  to  forget,  that 
man  was  created  a  free  agent,  and  as  such  must  have 
it  in  his  power  to  fall  into  a  state  of  degeneracy  and 
corruption.  And  when  the  generality  of  mankind  were 
actually  fallen  into  that  state,  the  acquainting  them  by 
a  spedal  revelation  how  they  might  be  delivered  out  of 
it — how  their  natures  might  be  rectified,  and  themselves 
restored  to  the  favor  of  God — could  not  surely  be  any 
derogation  to  the  characters  of  wisdom  and  goodness. 
As  well  may  we  charge  a  physician  with  want  of  skill, 
for  not  treating  the  sound  and  the  sick  by  one  and  the 
same  rule  ;  and,  while  he  is  finding  out  remedies  and 
prescribing  regulations  to  restore  a  constitution  well 
nigh  ruined  by  debauchery  and  excess,  accuse  him  for 
suffer i7ig  the  patient,  who  was  in  a  state  of  liberty  and 
freedom,  to  run  into  those  pernicious  courses.  As  well 
may  a  prince  who  proclaims  conditions  of  pardon  and 
fdvor  to  his  rebellious  subjects,  be  charged  with  want 
of  goodness,  because  he  did  not  chain  them  up  from 
their  cradles,  and  lay  them  under  an  utter  inability  to 
rebel. 

I  cannot  forbear  in  this  place,  to  take  notice  of  the 
extreme  vanity  and  presumption  of  those,  who  think 
themselves  at  liberty  to  disregard  the  Gospel  revela- 
tion, till  God  shall  think  fit  to  satisfy  them  for  what 
reason  he  did  not  make  it  sooner,  and  why  not  to  all 
mankind  at  once ; — as  if  he  were  accountable  to  us  for 
his  proceedings  and  dispensations,  and  we  at  liberty  to 
refuse  the  benefits  or  deliverances  he  sends,  because 
they  come  not  at  the  time  or  in  the  manner  thai  we 
judge  most  proper  !  Such  persons  may  as  well  ask,  why 
he  made  us  men  and  not  angels  ?  why  he  did  not  bring 
us  into  the  world  with  the  perfect  use  of  our  reason  ? 
why  he  did  not  give  to  all  men  the  same  capacity  and 
leisure  to  know  and  learn  their  duty  ?  Why  he  has  ap- 
pointed different  degrees  of  happiness  in  the  next  life? — 
If  indeed  it  appeared,  that  God  would  judge  men  for  the 
transgression  of  any  duty  which  they  did  not  and  could 
not  know  to  be  their  duty,  and  that  he  would  make 
them  accountable  for  not  being  influenced  by  motives 


96  BISHOP  Gibson's 

which  he  had  never  acquainted  them  with  ;  it  would  be 
difficult  to  reconcile  such  a  proceeding  to  the  divine 
justice*  But  since  the  contrary  to  this  is  true,  and  it  is 
certain  God  will  not  punish  men  for  invincible  igno- 
rance ;  surely  he  is  at  liberty  to  dispense  extraordinary 
favors  at  what  times,  and  in  what  measures,  to  what 
nations  and  to  what  persons,  he  thinks  fit !  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  but  such  persons  and  nations  are  bound 
to  receive  them  with  all  the  gratitude  and  thankfulness 
that  is  due  from  creatures  to  their  Creator.  Are  we 
then  to  quarrel  with  God,  that  he  raises  us  to  greater 
degrees  of  perfection,  in  order  to  advance  us  to  greater 
degress  of  happiness  and  glory  ?  Can  there  be  a  more 
flagrant  instance  of  perverseness,  than  to  refuse  his 
favors,  for  the  very  reason  which  ought  to  increase  our 
thankfulness  for  them,  namely,  that  he  vouchsafes  them 
to  7is,  and  not  to  others  ?  As  to  the  Heathens,  though 
the  light  of  reason  is  but  dim,  yet  they  who  have  no 
better  light  to  walk  by,  and  who  honestly  make  use  of 
that,  as  the  only  guide  God  has  given  them,  cannot  fail 
to  be  mercifully  dealt  with  by  infinite  justice  and  good- 
ness. This  is  the  foundation  of  St.  Paul's  reasoning 
upon  the  state  of  the  Gentile  world,''  '  That  God  did  not 
then  leave  himself  without  witness :  the  regular  returns 
of  the  seasons  of  the  year,  and  the  former  and  latter 
rain  coming  at  their  set  times  and  blessing  them  with 
plentiful  harvests,  were  visible  evidences  of  his  provi- 
dence and  goodnesfe.  And  though,  notwithstanding 
these  evidences,  they  fell  into  idolatry,  yet  because 
those  were  times  of  ignorance,  in  which  they  had  no 
other  guide  but  the  light  of  nature,  God  winked  at  them, 
or  bore  with  them,  and  did  not  let  loose  his  vengeance, 
utterly  to  destroy  them.'  "  But  now,"  (upon  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Gospel)  as  St.  Paul  goes  on  "  He  com- 
mandeth  all  men  every  where  to  repent ;  because  he 
hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness,  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained  ; 
whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that 
he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead."  And  they  who 
have  received  this  express  command  from  God,  and  do 
not  regard  it,  or,  in  other  words,  they  who  enjoy  the 

a  Acts  xiv.  16,  17,  compared  with  xvu.  30,  31. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  97 

clear  light  of  the  Gospel,  and  perversely  reject  it ;  in- 
stead of  being  entitled  to  mercy,  have  their'guilt  greatly 
aggravated,  by  shutting  their  eyes  against  the  light  he 
has  given  ; — by  defeating  the  measures  he  has  ordained 
for  their  salvation  ; — by  rejecting  a  dispensation  on  no 
other  account,  but  because  it  is  too  pure  and  perfect ; — 
and  by  refusing  the  happiness  that  God  offers,  for  no 
other  reason,  but  because  they  will  not  come  up  to  the 
terms  and  conditions  upon  which  he  offers  it. 

No  less  unreasonable  are  they,  who  plead  that  if  a 
revelation  is  to  be  regarded,  it  ought  to  be  made  to 
every  person,  or  at  least  to  every  age.  For  a  rule  of 
duty  is  one  and  the  same,  to  all  persons  and  in  all  ages  ; 
and  when  a  standing  test  is  once  given  to  distinguish 
truth  from  error,  it  is  equally  a  test  at  all  times,  and  in 
all  places ;  supposing  it  to  be  conveyed  to  them  with 
sufficient  evidence  of  its  coming  from  God.  That  this 
is  the  case  of  the  Gospel  revelation,  I  have  shown  you 
at  large  in  my  first  letter  ;  and  after  God  has  given  such 
evidence  as  is  abundantly  sufficient  to  satisfy  an  inge- 
nuous and  unprejudiced  mind,  it  is  very  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  he  is  obliged  to  make  every  age  and 
every  country  a  scene  of  new  miracles,  only  to  satisfy 
the  disingenuity  and  obstinacy  of  those,  who  have 
already  received  sufficient  evidence,  and  yet  will  not  be 
convinced.  This  is  the  foundation  of  what  our  Saviour 
says  in  the  parable  of  the  rich  man,  "  If  they  hear  not 
Moses  and  the  Prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded 
though  one  rose  from  the  dead.'"'  The  spirit  of  infi- 
delity is  proof  against  all  argument  and  conviction  ;  and 
the  Jews  are  a  lasting  testimony,  how  little  it  avails  to 
be  eye-witnesses  to  miracles,  when  men  have  once  re- 
solved to  be  infidels. <= 

Since  then  a  revelation  from  God  is  not  only  possible, 
but  also  probable,  and  very  agreeable  to  the  divine  wis- 
dom and  goodness;    and  we  live  in  a  country  which 

b  Luke  xvi.  31. 

c  To  the  remarks  of  Bishop  Gibson  we  may  add,  in  the  first  place — 
that  the  arrangement  required  by  the  objecters  to  Christianity  would,  in 
effect,  destroy  the  evidence  of  revelation,  by  making  miracles  no  miracles, 
but  standing  rules  of  Providence,  or  as  we  call  them,  Laws  of  Nature  ; 
and  prophecy  as  much  an  order  of  nature,  and  as  consonant  to  universal 
experience,  as  history ;  since  both  would  be  exhibited  to  every  individual 
Vol.  v.— 9 


98 

avowedly  acknowledges  and  embraces  the  Gospel  revc= 
lation ;  and  it  is  certain,  in  fact,  that  the  same  has  been 
acknowledged  and  embraced  by  many  other  countries 
for  above  sixteen  hundred  years,  and  still  continues  to 
be  so,  as  the  great  foundation  of  men's  happiness  both 
temporal,  and  eternal ;  to  say  in  this  case,  that  they  are 
not  obliged,  according  to  their  several  abilities  and  op- 
portunities, to  inquire  whether  such  a  revelation  has 
been  really  made,  and  what  grounds  there  are  to  believe 
that  it  came  from  God,  is  to  say,  that  they  are  at  liberty 
to  renounce  all  the  rules  of  reason  and  prudence,  as 
well  as  all  concern  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  body 
and  soul. 

V.  It  is  the  duty  of  mankind  to  RECEIVE  for 

THEIR  GUIDE  WHATEVER  REVELATION  COMES  FROM 
God  ",  AND  ALSO  TO  RECEIVE  IT  WHOLE  AND  EN- 
TIRE. 

.  What  the  evidences  are  of  the  Gospel  revelation's 
coming  from  God,  I  have  shown  at  large  in  my  former 
letter  ;  and  I  am  so  far  from  desiring  men  to  rest  im- 
plicitly upon  the  belief  of  any  age  or  country,  that  the 
design  of  the  last  head  is  to  convince  them  of  the  obli- 
gation they  are  under,  to  make  a  strict  inquiry  into 
those  evidences,  and  to  see  whether  they  be  such  as  are 
fit  for  a  reasonable  and  impartial  mind  to  acquiesce  in. 
And  if  upon  examination,  the  evidences  of  the  fact  ap- 
pear to  be  full  and  strong,  and  nothing  be  found  in  the 
matter  revealed,  that  is  a  manifest  contradiction  in 
itself,  or  evidently  inconsistent  either  with  the  divine 
perfections,  or  with  our  natural  notions  of  good  and 
evil  ;  then  I  must  add,  that  we  are  bound  to  receive  it 
as  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  notwithstanding  any 
colorable  suggestions  to  the  contrary  ;  because  we  are 
satisfied  that  it  comes  from  God,  who  has  a  right  to 
give  us  a  rule,  and  who  can  give  no  rule  but  what  is 


of  the  human  race  : — and,  secondly,  that  even  on  the  supposition  of  a 
revelation  being  made  to  evey  man,  it  would,  if  not  given  in  a  mode 
different  from  that  already  employed,  be  as  iuefficient  as  the  present 
plan  ;  the  case  of  the  Jews,  cited  by  GinsoN,  being  sufficient  proof  of 
this :  and  on  the  other  hand,  if  so  given  as  to  enforce  conviction,  it 
would  destroy  the  free  agency  of  man,  and  so  be  utterly  at  variance 
with  the  whole  analogy  of  the  natural  and  moral  government  of  God.J 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  99 

true,  and  just,  and  good.  So  argues  an  accurate  rea- 
soner,  upon  this  head  :  "  Since  God,  in  giving  us  the 
light  of  reason,  has  not  thereby  tied  up  his  own  hands 
from  affording  us,  when  he  thinks  fit,  the  light  of  reve- 
lation, in  any  of  those  matters  wherein  our  natural 
faculties  are  able  to  give  a  probable  determination ; 
revelation,  where  God  has  been  pleased  to  give  it,  must 
carry  it  against  the  probable  conjectures  of  reason. 
Because  the  mind  not  being  certain  of  the  truth  of  that 
it  does  not  evidently  know,  but  only  yielding  to  the 
probability  that  appears  in  it,  is  bound  to  give  up  its 
assent  to  such  a  testimony,  which,  it  is  satisfied,  comes 
from  one  who  cannot  err,  and  will  not  deceive. "'^  For 
the  same  reason,  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  admit  some 
part  of  a  divine  revelation  and  reject  the  rest ;  we  may 
not,  for  instance,  receive  the  improvements  it  makes  in 
the  moral  law,  and  shopping  there,  reject  or  disregard 
the  methods  it  provides  for  the  redemption  of  mankind, 
nor  the  ordinances  and  institutions  it  lays  down  for  the 
peace  and  edification  of  the  Church  and  every  particular 
member  of  it,  nor,  in  general,  any  thing  that  it  requires 
either  to  be  believed  or  practised  :  because,  if  the  whole 
appear  to  come  from  God,  every  part  has  equally  the 
stamp  of  divine  authority  ;  and  he  who  rejects  any  part, 
may  for  the  same  reason  reject  the  whole. 

And  while  I  am  showing  you  the  obligation  you  are 
under  to  receive  the  Gospel  revelation,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary that  I  caution  you  against  skepticism^  or  an  unrea- 
sonable difliculty  in  believing  and  suspending  the  assent 
of  the  mind  after  it  has  received  the  proper  grounds  of 
conviction.  Such  skeptics  are  all  they,  who  will  not 
be  content  with  those  sorts  of  proofs  which  things  are 
capable  of;  for  instance,  will  not  believe  things  which 
were  done  before  their  own  time,  because  they  did  not 
see  or  hear  them,  or  because  they  are  not  proved  to 
them  by  mathematical  demonstration,  of  which  all  his- 
torical facts  whatsoever  are  in  their  nature  equally  in- 
capable. Such  also  are  they,  w^ho  are  so  partial  in 
giving  their  assent,  as  to  believe  the  histories  of  Julius 
and  Augustus  Csesar  without  the  least  scruple,  but  are 
full  of  doubts  about  the  historv  of  Jesus  Christ,  thous^k 


d  Locke,  Vol.  I,  p.  328. 


100  BISHOP  GIBSON*!^ 

supported  by  evidences  far  more  clear  and  numerous. 
To  these  may  well  be  applied  what  was  said  by  an  ex- 
cellent writer,  in  relation  to  this  skeptical  humor : 
*•  Those  who  will  pretend  such  kind  of  grounds  for 
their  disbelief  of  any  thing-,  will  never  be  able  to  per- 
suade others,  that  the  true  cause  why  they  do  not  give 
their  assent,  is  not  because  they  have  no  reason  for  it, 
but  because  they  have  no  mind  to  it.''^  We  are  natu- 
rally very  uneasy  under  a  state  of  suspense  about  any 
thing  we  like  and  care  in  earnest  to  pursue ;  and  men's 
willingness  to  continue  in  suspense  as  to  the  truth  of 
Gospel  revelation,  is  a  certain  sign  that  it  is  a  business 
they  do  not  like,  nor  care  for.  And  although  this  is 
not  downright  infidelity,  yet  it  makes  men  indifferent 
about  religion,  and  inactive  in  their  Christian  course, 
and  takes  off  the  force  and  influence  of  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  almost  as  much  as  infidelity  itself. 

VI.  Such,  and  so  many,  are  the  excellences  of 
THE  Gospel  revelation,  that  every  wise  ani> 
GOOD  man  must  wish  it  to  be  true;  whether  we 
consider  the  ends  it  proposes,  or  the  means  for 
attaining  those  ends. 

The  great  ends  it  proposes,  are, — the  perfection  of 
human  nature,  and  the  happiness  of  mankind  ; — to  re- 
move us  from  the  state  of  brutes,  and  advance  us  to  the 
perfection  of  angels  ; — and,  upon  the  whole,  to  lay  a 
sure  foundation  for  our  peace  and  happiness,  both  tem- 
poral and  eternal. 

The  means  it  uses  for  attaining  those  great  ends,  are  of 
several  sorts.  For  instance  :  fierceness  and  cruelty, 
and  an  unrestrained  enjoyment  of  sensual  pleasures,  be- 
ing the  distinguishing  characters  of  the  brutal  nature, 
the  Gospel  revelation  abounds  with  prohibitions  of  an- 
ger, malice,  hatred,  revenge,  and  the  like  brutal  quali- 
ties ;  and  also  lays  the  strongest  restraints  upon  sensual 
pleasures  and  delights,  and  strictly  forbids  the  enjoy- 
ment of  them  beyond  the  bounds  it  has  set.  And  this, 
not  only  in  the  outward  acts,  but  also  in  the  inward 
thoughts,  imaginations,  and  desires  ;f  which  corrupt  the 


•  Dr.  WiLKiNs,  Natural  Religion,  p.  26. 
f  See  the  First  Letter,  p.  23. 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  101 

soul,  and  keep  it  in  a  disposition  to  acts  of  cruelty  and 
uncleanness,  and  in  a  readiness  to  proceed  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  them,  whenever  provocations  or  enticements 
come  in  the  way. 

And  these  prohibitions,  duly  attended  to  in  the  in- 
ward desires  as  well  as  outward  acts,  at  the  same  time 
that  they  set  us  above  the  condition  of  brutes,  do  also 
lay  a  foundation  for  the  peace  and  happiness  of  our 
lives  ;  which  experience,  as  well  as  the  universal  con- 
sent of  the  wisest  men  in  all  ages,  proves  to  be  inter- 
rupted and  destroyed  by  nothing  so  much,  as  the  in- 
dulging unruly  lusts  and  passions.  And  whereas,  next 
to  these,  the  happiness  of  this  life  is  greatly  impaired  by 
sickness,  want,  oppression,  and  many  other  temporal 
calamities  ;  Christianity  provides  for  our  comfort  under 
all  these — not  upon  the  principles  of  the  ancient  philo- 
sophers, '  because  they  are  common  to  mankind,  and  we 
cannot  avoid  them,  and  death  will  put  an  end  to  them;'^ 
but  by  assuring  us,  that  they  come  from  the  hand  of  a 
wise  and  good  God,  who  can  and  will  either  deliver  us 
from  them  or  support  us  under  them,  and  that  they  are 
designed  by  him  to  wean  us  from  the  delights  of  this  world, 
and  to  prepare  us  for  the  enjoyment  of  a  much  better.  Of 
the  like  tendency  are  the  many  precepts  of  the  Gospel, 
which  command  us  not  to  set  our  hearts  upon  the  things 
of  this  world,  but  to  pursue  them  with  moderation  and 
indifference,  and  a  constant  resignation  to  the  will  of 
God  ;  as  these  do  not  only  prevent  all  the  vexation  that 
otherwise  attends  the  loss  of  them  and  our  disappoint- 
ments about  them,  but  also  disengage  the  heart  from 
them,  and  give  it  greater  liberty,  as  well  as  a  readier  dis^ 
position  to  attend  and  pursue  the  affairs  of  the  next  life. 

For  though  it  is  certain  that  the  precepts  of  Christian- 
ity greatly  tend  to  our  comfort  and  happiness  in  this 
life,  it  is  as  certain  that  they  are  chiefly  designed  to 
prepare  us  for  the  happiness  of  another.  The  rules  of 
the  philosophers  were  many  of  them  wisely  calculated 
for  the  good  of  human  society  and  the  members  of  it  in 
this  world;  but  had  by  no  means  such  a  direct  tenden- 
cy and  relation  to  the  spiritual  enjoyments  of  the  next, 
as  appears  to  be  the  general  aim  and  tenor  of  the  rules 


s  See  before,  p.  23. 
9* 


103  BISHOP  Gibson's 

of  the  Gospel.  And  as  the  precepts  of  Christianity  are 
preparations  for  a  happiness  of  a  very  different  nature 
from  that  which  any  worldly  enjoyments  afford,  and 
have  higher  views  and  nobler  ends  than  can  be  answer- 
ed or  attained  by  those  of  mere  morality ;  in  these  re-  . 
spects  it  was  necessary  that  the  Gospel  precepts  should 
be  built  upon  higher  principles  than  ttiose  of  morality  ; 
and  that  they  should  be  of  a  more  pure,  refined,  and 
exalted  nature,  and  enforced  by  higher  and  more  noble 
motives. 

Accordingly,  Christianity  first  gives  us  a  true  know- 
ledge of  the  nature  of  God  :  that  it  is  not  impure,  as 
the  greatest  part  of  the  Heathens  believed,  nor  yet  se- 
vere and  terrible,  according  to  the  general  tenor  of  the 
Jewish  dispensation,  as  given  to  a  '  stiffnecked  and  ob- 
stinate people ;'  but  that  he  is  a  Being  of  a  pure  spirit- 
ual nature,  and  is  kind  to  us,  and  loves  to  do  us  good, 
and  has  given  the  highest  proof  of  it  in  sending  his  own 
Son  to  die  for  us  and  redeem  us  from  eternal  death,  to 
the  end  He  might  engage  our  love  and  obedience  to 
Him,  and  we  by  that  means  procure  eternal  happiness 
to  ourselves.  And  by  this  knowledge  of  his  nature,  we 
are  led  to  see  that  He  must  not  be  worshipped  accord- 
ing to  the  impure  rites  of  the  Heathen  services,  nor  yet 
by  the  sacrifices  of  beasts,  which  were  only  types  of 
our  redemption  by  Christ  ;  but  with  a  steady  attention 
of  the  soul,  and  a  pure  heart,  and  sincere  intentions  and 
resolutions  of  obedience  ;  which  our  Saviour  briefly  ex- 
presses by  '  worshipping  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth,^^ 
and  which  has  a  natural  tendency  to  fit  us  for  the  divine 
exercises  of  praise  and  contemplation  in  the  next  life, 
and,  in  the  mean  while,  is  a  means  of  preserving  a  con- 
stant communication  between  God  and  us,  during  our 
continuance  in  this  world. 

To  the  same  spiritual  ends,  tend  all  the  duties  of  life 
which  are  either  peculiar  to  the  Christian  institution,  or  at 
least  are  carried  by  it  to  greater  degrees  of  purity  and 
perfection.  Such  are  ; — with  regard  to  ourselves,  holi- 
ness of  heart ;  a  sober  use  of  the  enjoyments  of  life, 
with  mortifications  and  self-denials  as  we  find  occasion; 


»  John  iv.  23. 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  103 

an  indifference  about  the  things  of  this  world,  compared 
with  our  care  about  the  things  of  the  next ;  the  '  seek- 
ing those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth 
at  the  right  hand  of  God  ;'  the  '  having  our  conversa- 
tion in  heaven  ;'  the  '  laying  up  our  treasure  in  heaven;' 
and  the  keeping  a  strict  watch  over  our  thoughts  as 
well  as  actions  ; — with  regard  to  our  neighbor,  the  for- 
giveness of  injuries  ;  the  loving  of  enemies ;  the  doing  all 
the  good  we  can  to  men  for  God's  sake  ;  the  '  blessing 
them  that  curse  us  ;'  the  '  praying  for  them  that  despite- 
fully  use  us  and  persecute  us  ;'  and  the  '  overcoming 
evil  with  good.'  The  precepts  which  relate  to  our- 
selves, prepare  us  for  heaven,  as  it  is  a  place  of  pure 
spiritual  enjoyments  ;  and  those  which  relate  to  our 
neighbor,  prepare  us  for  it,  as  it  is  a  place  where  love, 
and  peace,  and  unity  reign,  to  the  greatest  degree,  and 
in  the  highest  perfection.  And  whereas  not  only  the 
Heathen  but  also  the  Jewish  worship  consisted  chiefly 
in  outward  rites  and  ordinances  ;  there  are  no  more 
than  two  of  that  sort  in  our  Saviour's  institution,  and 
those  very  plain  and  significant — Baptism,  by  which  we 
are  admitted  into  the  society  of  Christians,  and  all  the 
advantages  of  it — and  the  Lord's  Supper,  by  which  we 
declare  our  continuance  in  that  society ;  thankfully 
commemorating  the  great  work  of  our  redemption  by 
Christ,  and  applying  to  ourselves  the  comforts  and  be- 
nefits of  it ;  and  at  the  same  time,  resolving  to  live  as 
becomes  his  disciples,  and  receiving  spiritual  strength 
to  support  us  in  that  resolution. 

But  because,  by  reason  of  the  corruption  of  our 
hearts,  we  are  not  naturally  disposed  to  spiritual  exer- 
cises, and  the  greatest  part  of  mankind  have  their 
thoughts  employed  about  the  business  or  the  pleasures 
of  this  world,  and  are  daily  exposed  to  temptations  of  one 
kind  or  another  ;  all  which  indispose  them  for  devotion, 
and  make  them  ignorant  or  unmindful  of  their  duty, 
and  very  apt  to  fall  into  the  transgression  of  it ;  as  a 
lit  remedy  for  these  evils,  the  Gospel  institution  has  ap- 
pointed a  'public  worship,^'  which  every  Christian  is 
bound  to  attend,  and  a  peculiar  order  of  men  to  explain 
to  the  people  their  duty,  and  remind  them  of  it,  and  to 


104  BISHOP  Gibson's 

press  and  enforce  the  several  obligations  they  are  under 
to  perform  it. 

And  since  the  passions  and  appetites  of  men  lead  them 
strongly  to  sensual  gratifications  and  delights,  and  the 
self-denials  which  the  Gospel  requires  are  so  disagreea- 
ble to  weak  and  corrupt  nature,  that  it  is  in  vain  to 
hope  that  mankind  will  be  kept  to  their  duty  in  either 
of  these  respects  by  mere  reasoning  and  exhortation  ; 
the  Gospel  revelation  has  provided  a  balance  to  our  na- 
tural weakness  and  corruption,  by  giving  us  the  strong- 
est assurances  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  another 
world — the  one  to  deter  us  from  gratifying  our  unruly 
passions  and  inordinate  appetites,  and  the  other  to  carry 
us  with  cheerfulness  and  resolution  through  all  the  self- 
denials  which  the  Gospel  requires. 

And  as  the  love  of  God  is  the  highest  principle  of 
duty  and  obedience  to  him,  so  the  Gospel  gives  us  the 
strongest  and  most  forcible  motive  to  love  him  ;  namely, 
the  sending  his  own  Son  into  the  world  to  die  for  us, 
and  by  his  death  to  reconcile  us  to  himself,  and  make 
us  eternally  happy. 

And  as  in  all  cases  example  has  a  very  powerful  in- 
fluence in  order  to  practice,  we  have  in  our  Saviour's 
life  the  most  perfect  pattern  of  goodness,  that  ever  the 
world  beheld  ;  of  meekness  and  humility,  of  patience 
and  contentment,  of  loving  to  do  good  to  men,  and  of 
an  entire  obedience  and  submission  to  the  will  of  God. 

Since  also  the  Christian  institution,  which  so  freely 
and  openly  condemns  the  wickedness  of  the  world,  ex- 
poses the  sincere  professors  of  it  to  reproach  and  per- 
secution ;  Christ  has  armed  and  fortified  them  against 
these,  not  only  by  general  declarations  of  his  ac- 
ceptance of  the  services  of  those  who  '  confess  him 
before  men,'*"  and  are  '  reproached  and  persecuted  for 
his  sake  ;''^  but  also  by  special  promises,  that  he  will 
particularly  "  confess  them  before  God  and  his  angels," 
and  that  "  great  shall  be  their  reward  in  heaven ;" 
which  his  apostles  express,  by  *  reigning  with  him,'^ 
and  by  '  receiving  from  his  hands  a  crown  of  life.'f 

And  because  the  sense  of  our  natural  corruption  and 


c  Matt.  X.  32.  d  Matt.  V.  11,  12. 

•  2  Tiiii.  u.  12.  f  James  i.  12. 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  105 

infirmity  might  well  discourage  us  from  attempting  to 
live  up  to  the  pure  and  spiritual  precepts  of  the  Gospel, 
and  to  bring  our  hearts  to  a  thorough  liking  of  them, 
and  an  habitual  obedience  to  them  ;  therefore  the  same 
Gospel  ensures  a  supernatural  assistance  to  all  those 
who  shall  desire  and  pray  for  it,  to  support  them  against 
temptations,  and  preserve  in  them  a  constant  desire  and 
endeavor  to  conform  their  lives  to  the  laws  of  Christ. 
*'  If  ye,"  says  our  Saviour,  "  being  evil,  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  to  your  children,  how  much  more  shall 
your  heavenly  Father  give  the  holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  him  :"^  by  which  Spirit,  our  natures  are  renewed,'^ 
and  our  hearts  sanctified ;'  and  by  the  same  Spirit  we 
are  "  strengthened  with  might  in  the  inner  man.''^ 

And,  finally,  because  men,  through  a  consciousness 
of  their  manifold  offences  against  God,  would  be  in 
perpetual  dread  of  the  divine  justice,  and,  in  a  sense  of 
their  great  failings  and  infirmites,  would  think  them- 
selves unworthy  to  approach^  Being  of  infinite  purity, 
and  despair  of  recovering  his  favor  when  they  have 
oflended  him  by  the  transgression  of  their  duty ;  there- 
fore, to  comfort  sincere  Christians,  and  encourage  them 
to  persevere  in  their  duty,  the  Son  of  God  who  took 
our  nature  upon  him,  hath  satisfied  the  divine  justice  by 
dying- for  us,  and  is  appointed  the  intercessor  between 
God  and  man,  and  the  mediator  of  a  new  covenant ;  by 
which,  all  who  sincerely  desire  and  endeavor  to  per- 
form their  duty,  are  not  only  assured  of  supernatural 
assistance  to  enable  them  to  discharge  it,  but  also  upon 
a  sincere  repentance,  and  faith  in  him,  are  entitled  to 
pardon  and  forgiveness  if  they  transgress  it,  and  assured 
that  upon  those  terms  they  shall  be  restored  to  the 
favor  of  God,  and  the  comfortable  hope  of  eternal  life, 
notwithstanding  such  transgressions. 

This  is  the  account  which  the  New  Testament  gives, 
of  the  redemption  wroni^ht  for  us  by  Christ  : — that  his 
death  was  a  satisfaction  made  to  the  divine  justice  for 
the  sins  of  mankind  ; — that  through  faith  in  him,  we 
are  assured  of  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins  upon  our  re- 
pentance and  amendment ; — that  being  forgiven,  we  are 


S  Luke  xi.  13.  ^  Rom  xii.  2. 

i  Rom.  vi.  13,  k  Ephes.  iii.  16. 


106  BISHOP  Gibson's 

justified  in  the  sight  of  God  ;— that  being  justified  in  his 
sight,  we  are  reconciled  to  him  ; — that  he  who  recon- 
ciles us  to  God,  sanctifies  our  hearts  by  the  holy  Spirit, 
to  enable  us  to  perform  the  will  of  God,  and  thereby  to 
continue  in  his  favor ; — that  for  the  same  end,  he 
mediates  and  intercedes  for  us  with  God,  while  we 
continue  in  this  present  life  ; — and,  that  through  him  we 
have  the  promise  of  life  eternal.  This  is  a  scene  full  of 
comfort  to  all  those  who  comply  with  the  terms  of  the 
Gospel ;  and,  that  good  Christians  may  be  assured  that 
this  is  the  true  account,  and  that  by  consequence  the 
hope  and  comfort  they  build  upon  the  redemption 
wrought  for  them  by  Christ,  and  their  trust  in  him, 
are  well  founded  ;  I  will  give  them  in  one  view,  and  in 
the  words  of  Scripture,  what  is  plainly  delivered  there, 
upon  each  of  the  forementioned  heads. 

I.  Christ,  by  his  death,  made  satisfaction  to  the 
divine  justice  for  the^sins  of  mankind.  This  the 
Scripture  sets  forth  by  the  expressions,  of  dying  for 
us, — of  bearing  our  sins, — of  taking  away  our  sins, — 
of  being  a  propitiation  for  our  sins, — of  -purchasing 
and  redeeming  or  ransoming  us  with  the  price  of  his 
blood. 

By  DYING  FOR  us : — "  He  laid  down  his  life  for 
us."' — "  He  died  for  our  sins."" — "  He  gave  himself 
for  us."" — "  He  was  delivered  for  our  off*ences."° — 
"  He  tasted  death  for  every  man."p — Agreeably  to  the 
prophecy  concerning  him,  "  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  he  was  bruised /or  our  iniquities. "q 

By  BEARING  OUR  SINS : — "  He  was  once  oflfered  to 
bear  the  sins  of  many.">- — "  He  bare  our  sins  in  his 
own  body  on  the  tree."^ — Agreeably  to  the  prophecies 
concerning  him,  ''  He  hath  borne  our  griefs  and  carried 
our  sorrows — the  Lord  liath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity 
ofusall."^ 

By  TAKING  AWAY  OUR  SINS  *. — "  He  was  manifested 
to  take  away  our  sins."" — "  He  put  away  sin  by  the 

'  1  John  iii.  16.  «"   1  Cor.  xv.  3. 

"  Titus  ii.  14.  o   Rom.  iv.  25. 

P  Heb.  ii.  9.  u  Isa.  liii.  5. 

r  Heb.  ix.  2G.  *  1  Pet  ii.  24. 

t  Isa.  liii.  4.  6.  «  1  John  iii.  5, 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  107 

sacrifice  of  himself." — "  He  hath  washed  us  from  our 
sins  in  his  own  blood."'' — "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."^ 

By  being  a  propitiation  for  our  sins: — "Him 
God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in 
his  blood. "^ — "  God  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins." — "He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins, 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world."  y 

By  purchasing,  and  redeeming  or  ransoming  us, 
with  the  price  of  his  blood  : — "  He  purchased  the 
Church  of  God  with  his  own  blood."^ — "  He  came  to 
give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many."^ — "  He  gave  himself  a 
ransom  for  all."''— "We  are  bought  with  a  price. "•= — "  In 
him  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood. "'^ — "  He 
hath  redeemed  us  to  God  by  his  blood. "^ — "  We  are 
redeemed  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ. "^ 

2.  The  divine  justice  being  satisfied,  we  are  assured 
of  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins  through  Christ  upon 
a  sincere  repentance.  His  fore-runner,  John  the  Bap- 
tist, preached  "  the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins. ^''^ — Christ  tells  us,  "  His  blood  was  shed 
for  many /or  the  remission  of  sins. ''''^ — After  the  resur- 
rection, the  apostles  are  directed  by  him,  to  "  preach 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  in  his  name,  among 
all  nations."' — Accordingly,  their  preaching  was  this  ; 
"  Him  God  hath  exalted  with  his  right  hand  to  be  a 
Prince  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel, 
and  forgiveness  of  sins.^^^ — "  Repent  and  be  baptized 
every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the 
remission  of  sins. ''^^ — "Through  this  man  is  preached 
unto  you  the  forgiveness  of  sins. ^^"^ — "  To  him  give  all 
the  prophets  witness,  that  through  his  name,  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins.'^"" 

V  Heb.  ix.  2G.  Rev.  i.  5.  ^1  John  i.  17. 

X  Rom.  iii.  25.  1  John  iv.  10.  y  1  John  ii.  2. 

^  Acts  XX.  28.  ^  Matt.  xx.  28. 

f>  1  Tun.  ii.  G.  <^  1  Cor.  vi.  20., 

A  Eph.  i.  7.  Col.  iii.  4.  ^  Rev.  v.  9. 

f  1  Pet.  i.  18.  s  Luke  iii.  3. 

h  Matt.  xxvi.  28.  '  Luke  xxiv.  47. 

ic  Acts  V.  31.  '  Acts  ii.  38. 

m  Acts  xiii.  38.  »  Acts  x.  43. 


108  BISHOP  Gibson's 

— »*  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them."° — 
"  In  him  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  even 
the  forgiveness  of  sins. ^^^ — And  we  are  commanded  to 
"  forgive  one  another,  even  as  God, /or  Christ's  sake^ 
hath  forgiven  us.^^^^ 

3.  Our  sins  being  forgiven,  we  are  justified  by 
Christ  in  the  sight  of  God. — "  By  him  all  that  believe 
are  justified.''^'' — "  We  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."* — "  We  a.Te  justified  freely  by  his  grace, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus  Christ."' — 
"  Being  justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from 
wrath  through  him."" — "  God  hath  made  him  to  be  sin 
for  us^  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him."^ — "  Even  the  righteous- 
ness of  God,  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  all 
and  upon  all  them  that  believe."'' 

4.  Being  justified  by  Christ,  we  are  reconciled  to 
God. — "  Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with 
God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."^ — "  We  are 
reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son."y — "Us, 
who  were  enemies,  hath  Christ  reconciled  in  the  body 
of  his  flesh,  through  death."' — He  hath  "  tnade  peace 
through  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile 
all  things  unto  himself."^ — "  God  hath  reconciled  us 
to  himself  hy  Jesus  Christ;'"" — "who  suffered  for 
sin,  that  he  might  bring  us  unto  God.""^ — And  "  We 
are  accepted  in  the  Beloved.'"^ 

5.  Having  reconciled  us  to  God,  he  sanctifies  our 
HEARTS  BY  THE  HoLY  Spirit,  to  enable  us  to  perform 
our  duty,  and  thereby  to  continue  in  God's  favor. — "  We 
are  chosen  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the 


°  2  Cor.  V.  19.  p  Ephes,  i.  7. 

q  Ephes.  iv.  32.  r  Acts  xiii.  39. 

»  ICor.  vi.  11.  t  Rom.  iii.  24. 

"  Rom.  V.  9.  V  2  Cor.  v.  21. 

"  Rom.  iii.  22.  ^  Rom.  v.  2. 

y  Rom.  V.  10.  2  Col.  i.  21. 

»  Col.  i.  20.  .  b  2  Cor.  v.  18. 

«  1  Pet.  iii.  18.  J  Ephes.  i.  6. 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  109 

SpiRiT"<i— and  '' through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit, 
unto  obedience."® — "  We  are  sanctified  through  the 
offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ.^'^ — "  God  hath 
not  called  us  to  uncleanness,  but  unto  holiness^ — who 
hath  also  given  unto  us  his  Holy  Spirit."^ — "  The 
Spirit  of  God  dwelletk  in  i^^,"^  and  "  our  body  is  the 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"* — and  "  we  are  an  habit- 
ation of  God  through  the  Spirit."'' — "  We  are  renewed 
by  the  Holy  Ghost"' — and  "  quickened  by  the  Spirit""" 
— and  "  strengthened  with  might  by  the  Spirit  in  the 
inner  man."" — And  it  is  "  through  the  Spirit  that  we 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body"" — by  which  deeds,  we 
"grieve"  and  "quench  the  Spirit."? 

6.  He  who  assists  us  by  his  Spirit  upon  earth,  to 
enable  us  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  thereby  to  continue 
in  his  favor,  is  our  constant  mediator,  intercessor, 
and  advocate  with  God  in  heaven,  to  present  our 
prayers  for  the  supply  of  our  wants,  and  to  obtain  a 
compassionate  regard  to  our  failings  and  infirmities. 
"He  is  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant."q — "There  is 
one  mediator  between  God  and  man,  even  the  man 
Christ  Jesus.""" — "  He  makes  intercession  for  us  at 
the  right  hand  of  God."' — "  He  appears  in  the  presence 
of  God  for  us."' — "No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  him^'' — "He  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  utter- 
most who  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth 
to  make  intercession  for  them."^ — "If  any  man  sin, 
we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous."'' — "  He  is  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities,  and  therefore  let  us  come  boldly  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  find  grace  and  mercy  to 
help  in  time  of  need"* — and  "  let  us  draw  near  with 


d  2  Thes.  ii.  13.  '  1  Pet.  i.  2. 

f  Heb.  X.  10.  s  1  Thes.  iv  7,  8. 

h  Rom.  viii.  9.  i   1  Cor.  vi.  19. 

k  Ephes.  ii.  22.  '  Acts  ii.  38  ;   Tit.  iii,  5. 

°>  John  vi.  63.  °  Ephes.  iii.  16. 
•  Rom.  viii.  13. 

p  Eph.  iv.  30 ;  1  Thes.  v.  19 ;  Luke  xi.  13. 

1  Heb.  xii.  24.  >•  1  Tim.  ii.  5. 

^  Rom.  viii.  34.  '  Heb.  ix.  24. 

»  John  xiv.  6.  '  Heb.  vii,  25. 

-^  1  John  ii.  1,  2.  ^  Heb.  iv.  14. 
YoL.  5.— 10 


110  BISHOP    GIBSON^S 

a  true  heart,  and  full  assurance  of  faith. "y — "  In  hiirs 
we  have  boldness,  and  access  with  confidence."* 

7.  As  it  is  he  who  enables  us  to  do  the  will  of  God 
and  to  preserve  his  favor  in  this  life,  so  it  is  through 
him  that  we  are  made  partakers  of  life  eternal. 
"  The  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the 
world"* — "  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost"'' — 
*'  that  we  might  live  through  him'''^ — "that  the  world 
through  him  might  he  savedj^^'^ — ^"  that  believing,  we 
might  have  life  through  his  name, ^^^ — "that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
lifey^ — Through  him  we  are  "  saved  from  wrathJ'^^ — 
"  He  hath  delivered  us  from  the  wrath  to  come."'" — 
"  Eternal  life  is  the  gift  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."' — "  God  hath  given  us  eternal  life,  and 
this  life  is  in  his  <So7i,"^ — who  is  "  the  Captain  of  our 
salvation"' — the  "Author  of  eternal  salvation  to  all 
them  that  obey  him."™ — "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in 
any  other :  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven, 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."' 

What  has  been  said  under  this  sixth  general  head,  is 
a  short  view  of  the  Christian  institution,  both  in  the 
ends  it  proposes,  and  the  means  for  attaining  those  ends ; 
and  it  appears  in  this  view,  that  the  method  which  the 
Gospel  lays  down  for  our  salvation,  is,  throughout,  a 
consistent  and  uniform  scheme,  worthy  of  God,  and 
contrived  with  the  greatest  wisdom  and  goodness  for  the 
comfort  and  happiness  of  man.  It  appears  also,  how 
unable  human  reason  was  to  direct  us  either  to  the  ends, 
or  the  means,  and  that  however  the  due  use  and  ap- 
plication of  our  reason  may  answer  the  purposes  of 
this  life,  it  is  by  no  means  sufficient  to  guide  us  in  our 
way  to  the  next. 

But  if,  after  God  has  made  so  full  and  clear  a  revela- 

7  Heb.  X.  22.  -^  Eph.  iii.  12. 

a  1  John  iv.  14.  ^  Luke  xix.  10. 

c  1  John  iv.  9.  '^  John  xx.  31. 

•  John  iii.  17.  f  John  iii.  16. 

e  1  Thes.  i.  10.  h  i^ora  v.  9. 

i  Rom.  vi.  23.  t  1  John  v.  II. 

1  Heb.  ii.  10.  ^  Heb.  v.  9. 
»  AcU  iv.  12. 


SECOND  PASTORAL    LETTER.  Ill 

tion  in  what  way  and  upon  what  terms  he  will  save  us, 
men  will  resolve  to  be  their  own  guides,  and  refuse  to 
be  saved  in  the  way  that  he  has  appointed  ;  this  is  at 
their  own  peril.  If  some  will  believe  that  trusting  in 
Christ  is  their  whole  duty,  and  so  excuse  themselves 
from  the  observation  of  the  moral  law,  and  others  will 
affirm  that  the  observation  of  the  moral  law  ;s  sufficient, 
and  so  will  forego  the  benefit  of  Christ's  redemption ; 
if  some  will  contend  that  Christ  has  done  all,  and 
others  that  he  has  done  nothing  :  to  both  these  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  say,  that  they  are  very  vain  and  presumptuous 
in  setting  up  the  opinion  and  imagination  of  weak  and 
fallible  men,  against  the  infallible  testimony  of  persons 
sent  and  inspired  by  God.  The  Gospel  account  is  as 
full  and  express  as  words  can  make  it,  on  one  hand,  that 
faith  in  Christ  is  the  foundation  of  a  Christian's  title 
to  heaven,  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  repentance  and 
good  works  are  necessary  conditions  of  obtaining  it. 

It  may  not  be  improper,  before  I  shut  up  this  head, 
to  observe  that  several  of  our  most  eminent  divines' 
after  the  restoration,  set  themselves,  both  by  preaching 
and  writing,  to  enlarge  upon  the  importance  of  moral 
duties,  and  to  recommend  them,  with  great  earnestness, 
to  the  regard  of  the  people ;  to  such  a  degree,  as  to 
stand  charged  by  others  with  too  great  a  disregard  of 
the  doctrines  and  duties  peculiar  to  Christianity. 
Whereas,  the  case  in  reality  was  this.  During  the 
times  of  confusion,  many  of  the  preachers  had  not 
only  forborne  to  inculcate  the  duties  of  morality,  but 
had  labored  to  depreciate  them  ;  to  persuade  the  people 
that  faith  was  all,  and  works  nothing.  And  therefore 
the  clergy,  after  the  restoration,  in  order  to  take  off 
those  unhappy  impressions,  found  themselves  obliged  to 
inculcate  with  more  than  ordinary  diligence,  the  neces- 
sity of  moral  duties  in  the  Christian  life,  and  to  labor 
to  restore  them  to  their  proper  share  in  the  Christian 
scheme. p     But  those  of  them,  who  with   the   honest 


•  Dr.  WiLKiNs,  Barrow,  Tillotson,  John  Scott. 

P  [The  apology  which  Bishop  Gibson  makes  for  the  great  men  in 
question,  is  undoubtedly  just,  and  perhaps  sufficient.  There  is  abun- 
dant evidence  in  their  works,  that  whatever  prominence  they  may  have 
given  to  moral  duty  in  their  statements  of  Gospel  truth,  was  given 
because  they  thought  the  times  and  the  natural  constitution  of  man 


113  BISHOP   GIBSON'S 

view  I  have  mentioned,  labored  the  most  zealously  in 
that  way,  were  at  the  same  time  as  zealous  to  explain 
to  the  people  the  great  work  of  our  redemption  by 
Jesus  Christ,  as  the  means  of  salvation  which  God 
has  appointed  : — the  corruption  and  misery  into  which 
mankind  was  sunk  by  the  fall  of  our  first  parents  ;"5i — the 
necessity  of  a  mediator,  to  recover  them,  and  restore 
them  to  the  favor  of  God  ;'^ — the  incarnation  of  the 
Son  of  God  for  that  end ;» — the  goodness  of  God  in  ap- 
pointing his  own  Son  to  be  the  mediator  between  him 
and  us; — the  comfort  of  having  a  mediator  of  our 
own  nature  ;" — the  expiation  made  for  sin  by  the  suf- 
fering of  Christ  ;' — the  wisdom  of  God  in  making 
Christ  a  sacrifice  for  sin  ;'' — the  inestimable  value  of 
his  sufferings,  for  the  redemption  of  all  mankind  ;* — our 
justification  by  faith  in  him,^ — and  sanctification  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,^  and  his  intercession  for  us  at  God's  right 
hand.'  In  general ;  what  can  be  more  express  than  the 
doctrine  laid  down  by  Archbishop  Tillotson,*'  con- 
required  it ;  not  because  they  were  disposed  to  rob  the  great  doctrine 
of  redemption  through  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ  alone,  of  any  of 
its  due  pre-eminence  in  the  scheme  of  salvation. 

Yet  they  cannot  be  altogether  acquitted  of  error.  In  their  anxiety 
to  reunite  Christian  holiness  with  Christian  profession,  they  did  not 
proceed  upon  the  proper  plan  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  object — 
the  plan  invariably  adopted  by  the  inspired  apostles — that  of  building 
it  ON  Christian  faith.  They  strenuously  insisted  on  the  Christian 
graces  and  virtues  as  parts  of  man's  duty  to  his  Maker,  rather  than  as 
fruits  of  faith  in  a  crucified  Redeemer ;  and  enforced  them  by  consider- 
ations deduced  from  the  grand  distinctions  between  good  and  evil,  and 
from  the  hope  of  reward  and  the  fear  of  punishment,  more  than  by 
those  of  gratitude  to  a  merciful  God,  reconciled  to  us  in  Christ — of 
love  to  the  Saviour  who  gave  himself  for  us — and  of  obligation  to  the 
Redeemer  who  has  '  bought  us  with  a  price.'] 

q  TiLLOTsox,  Vol.  III.  303.  320.  321.  589;  Barrow,  Vol.  I.  464, 
Vol.  II.  222,  Vol.  III.  228. 

r  TiLLOTsoN,  Vol.  II.  129;  Scott,  Vol.  I.  201,  Vol.  III.  6. 

»  TiLLOTsoN,  Vol.  I.  437.  460,  Vol.  II.  261 ;  Barrow,  Vol.  II.  235. 

t  TiLLOTsox,  Vol.  I.  445 ;  Scott,  Vol.  III.  2-1.  42. 

"  TiLLOTSON,  Vol.  I.  p.  471. 

V  TILLOTSON,  Vol.  I.  477,  Vol.  II.  361 ;  Scott,  Vol.  III.  187. 

y^  TILLOTSON,  Vol.  I.  473,  Vol.  II.  637;  Barrow,  Vol.1.  464,  Vol. 
II.  339;  Scott,  Vol.  III.  167. 

=^  Barrow,  Vol.  II.  313,  Vol.  III.  454. 

7  TILLOTSON,  Vol.  III.  480 ;  Barrow,  Vol.  II.  71. 

«  TILLOTSON,  Vol.  III.  300.  320.  488.  489 ;  Scott,  Vol.  III.  83.  151. 

"^  Scott,  Vol.  III.  183.  [164. 

^  Scott,  Vol.  11.  p.  488. 


SECOND    PASTORAL    LETTER.  113 

cerning  our  redemption  by  Christ,  "  That  men  are  to 
place  all  their  hope  and  confidence  of  salvation  in  Jesus 
Christ  the  Son  of  God;  that  is,  to  believe  that  through 
the  alone  merit  of  his  death  and  sufferings,  God  is  recon- 
ciled to  us ;  and  that,  only  upon  the  account  of  the 
satisfaction  which  he  hath  made  to  divine  justice,  we 
are  restored  to  the  favor  of  God,  and  our  sins  are  par- 
doned to  us,  and  we  have  a  title  to  eternal  life.  Not 
but  that  there  are  conditions  on  our  part  to  make  us  ca- 
pable of  these  benefits,  faith,  and  repentance,  and  sincere 
obedience,  and  holiness  of  life,  without  which  we  shall 
never  be  made  partakers  of  them ;  but  that  the  satis- 
faction of  Christ  is  the  only  meritorious  cause  of  those 
blessings." 

And  together  with  the  several  heads  of  our  redemp- 
tion by  Christ,  thus  explained  and  enlarged  upon  by 
those  who  had  most  distinguished  themselves  in  press- 
ing the  duties  of  morality ;  the  people  were  further 
instructed  by  the  same  persons,  that  baptism  is  an 
institution  into  a  new  covenant  with  God  ;<=  and  the 
Lord's  Supper,  a  renewal  of  that  covenant ;  and  they 
were  admonished  by  them,  of  the  great  duties  of  as- 
sembling in  the  public  worship  of  God,"^  and  frequently 
receiving  the  Holy  Sacrament,^  and  hearing  and  reading 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  their  only  sure  and  complete 
rule  both  of  faith  and  practice.*"  Concerning  all  which, 
one  of  those  writers,^  after  having  described  in  a  lively 
manner  the  excellences  of  moral  duties,  goes  on  thus : 
"The  positive  parts  of  religion  are  our  duty  as  well  as 
these,  and  God  by  his  sovereign  authority  exacts  them 
at  our  hands;  and  unless,  when  Jesus  Christ  hath 
been  sufficiently  proposed  to  us,  we  do  sincerely  believe 
in  him — unless  we  strike  covenant  with  him  by  bap- 
tism, and  frequently  renew  that  covenant  in  the  Lord's 
Supper — unless  we  diligently  attend  on  the  public  as- 
semblies of  his  worship — there  is  no  pretence  of  morality 
will  bear  us  out,  when  we  appear  before  his  dread  tri* 
bunal."     To  which  I  must  add,  that  another  of  those 


c  Scott,  Vol.  11.  296,  Vol.  III.  283. 
<»  TiLLOTsoN,  Vol.  I.  519.  537;  Scott,  Vol.  II.  115. 
•  TiLLOTSON,  Vol.  I.  248 ;  Scott,  Vol.  H.  294.. 
f  TiLLOTsoN,  Vol.  I.  308,  Vol.  II.  243. 
s  ScoTT,  Vol.  II.  68. 
IQ* 


114  BISHOP  Gibson's 

divines,  who  wrote  an  excellent  Treatise  of  Natural 
Religion,  (i.  e.  of  principles  and  duties  merely  moral, 
and  such  as  are  discoverable  by  the  strength  of  reason 
exerted  and  improved  to  the  highest  degree  that  our 
natural  faculties  are  capable  of,)  concludes  with  the 
fullest  declaration  of  the  insufficiency  of  them  to  in- 
struct us  in  our  duty,  or  to  enable  us  to  perform  it,  or 
to  conduct  us  to  happiness,  without  those  clear  lights 
and  supernatural  assistances  which  the  Gospel  dispen- 
sation conveys  to  us.  His  words  are  these:'"  "Not- 
withstanding all  that  can  be  said  of  natural  religion,  it 
cannot  be  denied,  but  that  in  this  dark  and  degenerate 
state  into  which  mankind  is  sunk,  there  is  great  want 
of  a  clearer  light  to  discover  our  duty  to  us  with  greater 
certainty,  and  to  put  it  beyond  all  doubt  and  dispute 
what  is  the  good  and  acceptable  will  of  God  ;  and  of  a 
more  powerful  encouragement  to  the  practice  of  our 
duty,  by  the  promise  of  a  supernatural  assistance,  and 
by  the  assurance  of  a  great  and  eternal  reward.  And 
all  these  defects  are  fully  supplied  by  that  clear  and 
perfect  revelation,  which  God  hath  made  to  the  world 
by  our  blessed  Saviour."  And  elsewhere  he  says,  *'  It 
is  not  the  mere  performance  of  such  moral  duties  as 
are  of  natural  obligation,  unless  they  be  done  in  obedi- 
ence to  Christ  as  our  Lord  and  lawgiver,  and  in  reliance 
upon  him  for  his  pardon  and  acceptance  as  our  priest 
and  Saviour,  that  can  make  us  acceptable  to  Christ,  or 
entitle  us  to  the  name  of  Christians.""  And  speaking 
of  the  salvation  of  those  Heathens  who  lived  according 
to  the  light  of  nature,*  that  "  when  God  hath  not  thought 
fit  to  tell  us,  how  he  will  be  pleased  to  deal  with  such 
persons,  it  is  not  fit  for  us  to  tell  him  hoAv  he  ought  to 
deal  with  them,"  he  adds ;  "  Only,  of  this  we  are  suffi- 
ciently assured,  that  in  all  ages  and  places  of  the  world, 
aZZ  that  are  saved,  are  saved  by  the  mercy  of  God,  and 
by  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  La77ib  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world;  the  Scripture  having 
expressly  told  us,  That  there  is  no  salvation  in  any 
other  ;  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  ivhereby  we  must  be  saved.'"'' 

'  Dr.  Wilkins,  II.  c.  9.  »  Wilkins'  Sermon,  p.  51. 

I  Natural  Religion,  p.  397. 

•  So,  also  Barrow,  Vol.  III.  p.  449.  464. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  115 

I  have  already  observed,  that  the  duties  of  morality 
were  carried  by  our  Saviour  to  much  liigher  degrees  of 
purity  and  perfection,  than  had  been  practised  before 
either  by  Jew  or  Gentile  ;  agreeably  to  the  pure  and 
spiritual  nature  of  that  happiness  which  he  revealed  to 
mankind,  and  the  necessity  of  fitting  the  soul  for  the 
full  enjoyment  of  it  in  the  next  life,  by  habituating  our- 
selves to  it,  during  our  abode  in  this.  And  for  the  same 
end,  we  find  throughout  the  New  Testament  the  prac- 
tice of  moral  duties  enforced,  and  the  breach  of  them 
discouraged,  not  so  much  from  considerations  relating 
to  this  worldf  or  any  temporal  benefit  accruing  from 
thence  to  ourselves  or  others,  as  from  the  sanctions  of 
dutyj  which  the  civil  relations  among  men  have  received 
from  God  ; — from  the  manner  of  God's  dealings  with 
men ; — from  the  example  of  Christ,  our  Lord  and 
Master ; — from  the  regard  we  owe  to  our  holy  profes- 
sion ; — from  the  relation  we  hear  to  heaven  while  we 
live  here  upon  earth ; — from  the  different  spiritual 
sources  of  moral  and  immoral  actions ; — and,  from  the 
influence  which  our  regard  or  disregard  to  the  duties  of 
morality,  will  have  upon  our  future  state. 

1.  From  the  sanctions  of  duty  which  the  civil 

relations  AMO^fG    MEN   HAVE  RECEIVED  FROM  GoD. 

Magistrates  must  be  obeyed,  not  only  for  wrath  but 
for  conscience  sake,  because  they  are  the  ordinance  of 
God  \^  and  they  must  also  conduct  themselves  towards 
the  people,  "  as  the  ministers  of  <jr0D  to  them  for 
good."""  Husband  and  wife  must  inviolably  adhere  to 
each  other,'  because  they  are  joined  together  and  made 
one  hy  God,  who  "  at  the  beginning  made  them  male 
and  female,"y  and  by  whom  "  whoremongers  and  adul- 
terers will  be  judged. "^  Servants  are  commanded  to 
be  obedient  to  their  masters  "  in  singleness  of  heart, 
fearing  God  ;"^  "  with  good  will  doing  service  as  to 
the  Lord,  and  not  unto  men,""^  and  masters,  to  be  just 
and  merciful  to  their  servants,  as  •'  knowing  that  they 
also    have   a   master  in   heaven.'"''      And  in    general, 


y  Rom.  xiii.  2.  5.  ^  Rom.  xiii.  4. 

'  Matt.  xix.  4.  6.  ^  Matt.  xix.  4. 

z  Heb.  xiii.  4.  »  Ephes.  vi.  6,  ' 

»  Col  iii.  22.  •  Ephes.  vi.  9. 


116 

"  whatsoever  we  do,"  the  Gospel  enjoins  us  to  "  do  it 
heartily,  as  to  the  Lord,  and  not  unto  men  ;"o  and  that 
"  whether  we  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  we  do,  we  do 
all  to  the  glory  o/God."'^ 

2.  From  the  manner   of   God's   dealings  with 

MEN. 

We  must  be  kind  to  enemies  as  well  as  friends,  be- 
cause "  God  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on 
the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  un- 
just."^ We  must  "forgive  one  another,  because  God 
for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  us."f  And  upon  God's 
having  '  manifested  his  love  to  us  in  sending  his  only 
begotten  Son  into  the  world,  that  we  might  live  through 
him,'°  is  grounded  the  inference  which  St.  John  makes, 
*'  beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one 
another  ;"h  and  the  loving  one  another  is  the  most  con- 
stant and  forcible  motive  of  good  offices  to  one  another. 

3.  From  the  example  of  Christ,  our  lord  and 

MASTER. 

"  Learn  of  we,"  says  he,  "  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly, 
and  ye  shall  find  rest  to  your  souls."'  And  says  the 
apostle,  "  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  loved  us,  and 
gave  himself  for  us.'"'  "  Let  every  one  of  us  please 
his  neighbor  for  his  good  to  edif^ation  ;  for  even 
Christ  pleased  not  himself."'  "  Let  nothing  be  done 
through  strife  or  vain  glory,  but  in  lowliness  of  mind 
let  each  esteem  other  better  than  themselves  :  look  not 
every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every  man  also  on 
the  things  of  others  ;  let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which 
was  also  in  Christ  Jesus."'"  ^^  As  he  that  hath  called 
you,  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversa- 
tion."" 

4.  From  the  regard  we  owe  our  holy  profes- 
sion. 

Immoralities  of  all  kinds  are  forbidden  to  Christians, 
because  they  ought  to  "  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation 
wherewith  they  are  called,  with  all  lowliness  and  meek- 
ness, with  long-suffering,  forbearing  one  another  in  love ; 


c  Col.  iii.  23.  d  Cor.  x.  31. 

•  Matt.  V.  44.  <■  Ephes.  iv.  32. 

s  1  John  iv.  9.  i>  1  John  iv.  11. 

i   Matt.  xi.  29.  ^  Ephes.  v.  2. 

J  Rom.  XV.  2,  3.  ^  PJiil.  ii.  3,  4,  5. 
«  1  Pet.  i.  15. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  117 

endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond 
of  peace.""  They  must  "  walk  worthy  of  God,  who 
hath  called  them  to  his  kingdom  and  glory.""  They 
must  "  walk  as  children  of  light."?  Their  "  conversa- 
tion must  be  as  becomes  ike  Gospel  of  Christ. "i  They 
must  "adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all 
things  ;"'^  and  take  care  that  Uhe  name  of  God  and  his 
doctrine  be  not  blasphemed,  or  evil  spoken  of,  among 
the  Gentiles,  through  them.'«  We  are  to  "  walk  ho- 
nestly (or  decently)  as  in  the  day  (the  day-light  of  the 
Gospel,)  not  in  rioting  and  drunkenness,  not  in  cham- 
bering and  wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying  ;"  and 
we  must  "  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  no 
provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof."' 

5.  From  THE  RELATION  WE  BEAR  TO  HEAVEN,  WHILE 
WE  LIVE  HERE  UPON  EARTH. 

"  Our  conversation  (or  citizenship)  is  in  heaven  ;"" 
and  because  we  are  only  "strangers  and  pilgrims. upon 
earth,"  we  must  "  abstain  from  fleshy  lusts  (the  inordi- 
nate enjoyments  of  this  world)  which  war  against  the 
soul  ;"^  and  we  are  also  put  in  mind  that  we  are  only 
"  sojourners"  here,  and  have  "  no  continuing  city,  but 
seek  one  to  come,"^  that  we  may  not  set  up  our  rest  in 
this  world,  nor  be  too  solicitous  about  the  things  of  it, 
but  may  have  our  heavenly  country  always  in  our  eye, 
and  make  it  our  greatest  concern  to  arrive  safely  there. 

6.  From  the  different  spiritual  sources  of  mo- 
ral and  immoral  actions. 

"  Love,  peace,  gentleness,  goodness,  meekness,  and 
temperance,"  are  recommended  to  our  practice,  as 
"  fruits  of  the  Spirit,"*  and  as  "  the  wisdom  that  is  from 
above,  which  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and 
easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits."  y  But 
"  adultery,  fornication,  uncleanness,  lasciviousness,  ha- 
tred, variance,  emulation,  wrath,  strife,  envying,  mur- 
ders, drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such  like,"  are  repre- 
sented by  the  Gospel  as  "works  of  the  flesh,"^  and  the 

"  Ephes.  iv.  1,  2,  3.  •  1  Thes.  ii.  12. 

P  Ephes.  V.  8.  "^  Phil.  i.  27. 

«•  Tit.  ii.  10.  s  1  Tim.  vi.  1  ;  Tit.  ii.  5. 

'  Rom.  xiii.  13,  14.  »  Phil.  iii.  20. 

'  IPet.  ii.  11.  ^  Heb.  xi.  16. 

»  Gal.  V.  22,  23.  r  James  iii.  17. 

«  Gal.  V.  19,  20,  21. 


118  BISHOP  Gibson's 

fruits  of  that  wisdom  which  descended  not  from  above, 
but  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish"  == — as  proceeding  from 
the  corruptions  of  nature  without  the  guidance  of  God's 
holy  Spirit,  and  from  the  suggestions  of  the  devil,  of 
whom  the  Gospel  every  where  warns  us  as  an  implaca- 
ble enemy  to  mankind,  who  "  walketh  about  seeking 
whom  he  may  devour,"^  and  whose  "  wiles"^  and 
"  snares""  we  must  not  hope  to  escape,  but  by  M'atchful- 
ness  and  prayer. 

7.    From  the  influence  which  our  regard  or 

DISREGARD  TO  THE  DUTIES  OF  MORALITY  WILL  HAVE 
UPON  OUR  FUTURE   STATE. 

St.  Paul  concludes  a  large  catalogue  of  sins,  fornica- 
tion, uncleanness,  wrath,  envy,  <fec.,  with  this  just  but 
terrible  sentence,  "  of  which,  I  tell  you  before,  as  I 
have  also  told  you  in  time  past,  that  they  which  do  such 
things  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."'1  On  the 
contrary,  the  Gospel  recommends  the  practice  of  humi- 
lity, by  ensuring  to  it  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;"^ 
meekness,  because  it  is  "  in  the  sight  of  God  of  great 
price  ;"f  mercifulness,  as  the  means  of  "obtaining 
mercy  ;"2  temperance,  as  necessary  to  the  running  our 
Christian  course  with  success  ',^  purity  of  heart,  as  a 
necessary  preparation  to  the  "  seeing  God  ;"'  charity,^  as 
it  is  the  "  laying  up  in  store  for  ourselves  a  good  founda- 
tion against  the  time  to  come,  that  we  may  attain  eternal 
life ;"  >  patience  and  perseverance  in  well-doing,  because 
"  our  light  affliction  which  is  but  for  a  moment  worketh 
for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  weight  of  glory  ;  while  we 
look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things 
which  are  not  seen,  because  the  things  which  are  seen, 
are  temporal,  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen,  are 
eternal.'''''^ 

This  is  the  true  Gospel  morality  ;  which  makes  all  the 
relations  among  men,  and  the  duties  belonging  to  them, 
to  centre  in  God,  and  connects  the  offices  of  this  life 


»  James  iii.  15.  »  1  Pet,  v.  8. 

v*  Ephes.  vi.  11.  18.  «  3  Tim.  ii.  26. 

■^  Gal.  V.  21.  e  Matt.  v.  3. 

f  1  Pet.  iii.  4.  s  Matt.  v.  X 

»>   1  Cor.  ix.  25.  i   Matt.  v.  8. 

k  [In  the  restricted  (and  indeed  improper)  sense  of  alms-givinff.] 

>  1  Tim.  vi.  18,  19.  «  3  Cor.  iv.  17,  18, 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  119 

tvith  the  happiness  of  the  next ;  and  it  is  no  other  in 
effect,  than  that  which  St.  Paul  more  briefly  lays  down 
in  the  following  words  :  "  the  grace  of  God  that  brings 
eth  salvation  hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  us, 
that  denying  ungodliness,  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should 
live  soberly^  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present 
world;  looking  for  that  blessed  hope  and  the  glorious 
appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  ;  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem 
us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  di  peculiar 
people,  zealous  of  good  works.'''''' 

I  am  aware,  that  in  the  view  of  Christianity  I  have 
given  under  this  sixth  general  head,  many  things  arc 
laid  down,  which  some  late  writers,  who  yet  disown  the 
name  of  infidels,  have  with  much  confidence  pronounced 
to  be  superstition.  And  that  the  same  charge  might 
not  be  repeated,  I  judged  it  necessary  to  show  thus  par- 
ticularly from  the  plain  and  express  words  of  Scripture, 
that  this  is  no  other  superstition  than  what  was  taught 
by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  It  is  indeed  to  be  greatly 
lamented,  that  in  a  Christian  country  there  should  be 
any  need  to  prove,  that  the  work  of  our  redemption  by 
the  death  of  Christ,  with  the  benefits  thereby  obtained 
for  us,  is  a  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Christian  faith. 
But  when  we  see  so  much  pains  taken  to  represent  these 
things  as  corruptions  in  religion,  we  who  have  the  care 
of  souls,  can  think  no  pains  too  much  to  explain  and 
inculcate  those  great  and  necessary  truths,  by  showing 
from  the  whole  tenor  of  the  New  Testament,  that  they 
are  the  means  which  God  himself  hath  appointed  for 
the  salvation  of  mankind. 

The  excellence  of  the  Christian  institution,  joined  to 
the  evidences  of  its  divine  authority  as  set  forth  in  my 
former  Letter,  naturally  leads, 

VII.  To  THE  GREAT  SINFULNESS  AND  DANGER 

OF  REJECTING   IT,  OR,  IN  OTHER  WORDS,  TO  THE   GREAT 
GUILT  AND  PERVERSENESS  OF  INFIDELITY. 

For  though  it  is  not  in  any  man's  power  to  believe 
what  he  pleases,  because  as  things  appear  at  this  or  that 


«  Tit.ii.  11,  13,13,14. 


120  BISHOP  Gibson's 

time  to  his  understanding,  so  his  belief  must  be,  and 
we  can  neither  be  charged  with  guilt,  nor  be  liable  to 
punishment,  for  what  we  cannot  help  ;  yet  in  searching 
after  truth,  there  are  two  things  which  are  in  our  power, 
— the  use  of  our  faculties  ; — and,  the  due  and  impartial 
use  of  them  : — and  if  we  fail  of  finding  out  the  truth, 
or  fall  into  error,  by  not  using  our  faculties  at  all,  or  by 
using  them  unduly^  we  are  certainly  accountable  to 
God  who  gave  them,  and  who,  as  our  sovereign  Lord, 
has  a  right  to  require  a  du€  use  and  to  punish  the  abuse 
of  them.  In  speculative  matters,  which  no  way  concern 
our  duty  or  happiness,  men  may  be  as  ignorant  as 
they  please  without  danger  of  guilt :  but  to  be  an  infidel 
in  religion  through  sloth  and  carelessness,  for  want  of 
examining  at  all,  or  through  a  slight  and  superficial 
examination,  makes  men  highly  guilty  in  the  sight  of 
God  ;  both  as  it  is  a  neglect  of  using  and  applying  the 
faculties  he  has  given  us,  and  as  it  is  manifestly  contrary 
to  all  the  rules  of  right  reason,  not  to  use  them  in  a 
matter  which  so  nearly  concerns  our  safety  and  interest  '^^ 
especially  when  the  evidences  of  Christianity  lie  so 
open  to  the  general  apprehension  of  mankind,  and  may 
so  easily  be  entered  into  and  understood. 

No  less  guilty  are  they  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  in 
examining  the  grounds  of  religion,  sufier  their  minds  to 
be  influenced  by  vicious  inclinations,  or  by  pride  and 
an  affectation  of  singularity,  or  by  any  immoral  and 
indirect  motive  whatsoever.  It  is  every  day's  experi- 
ence and  observation,  how  greatly  the  judgments  of 
men  are  influenced  in  temporal  matters  by  their  own 
private  convenience,  and  interest,  and  other  considera- 
tions, which  do  not  at  all  belong  to  the  matter  they  are 
to  judge  of;  and  this  maybe  much  more  suspected  in  the 
judgment  they  make  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  consi- 
dering how  contrary  its  precepts  are  to  the  inordinate 
desires  and  inclinations  of  nature.  We  cannot  enter  into 
the  hearts  of  men,  to  see  upon  what  motives  they  act, 
and  under  what  influences  they  reason;  but  when  we 
consider  the  strength  and  clearness  of  the  evidences  of 
Christianity,  with  the  advantages  aud  excellences  of  the 
Gospel  institution,  and  the  strict  restraints  it  lays  upon 

f  First  Letter,  p.  33,  &c. 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  121 

excess  ^tid  uncleanness  of  all  kinds,  we  cannot  but  see 
that  it  requires  the  greatest  degree  of  charity,  to  ascribe 
their  infidelity  to  any  thing  but  the  love  of  vice,  or  the 
love  of  contradiction.  This  is  what  the  apostle  calls 
"an  evil  heart  of  unbelief:" p  and  where  that  is  the  case, 
infidelity  is  a  sin  of  the  highest  nature ;  as  it  corrupts 
the  reason  and  understanding  which  God  has  given,  and 
subjects  it  to  base  and  unworthy  influences  ; — as  it  de- 
grades human  nature,  and  carries  in  it  an  indifference 
whether  we  be  immortal  or  die  like  beasts,  or  rather  a 
desire  that  we  may  die  like  them  ; — as  it  is  an  affront  to 
God,  in  rejecting  his  messengers,  who  come  with  clear 
and  evident  testimonies  of  their  being  sent  by  him  ; — as 
it  makes  him  a  liar,  and  is  a  manifest  contempt  of  his 
goodness  in  sending  a  revelation,  and  defeats  his  gra- 
cious designs  and  measures  for  the  salvation  of  mankind. 
Well,  therefore,  might  our  Saviour  denounce  damnation 
against  all  those  who  did  not  receive  him  and  his  doc- 
trine :  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved, 
but  he  that  believeth  not,  (i.  e.  disbeheveth)  shall  he 
damned.^""^  "  If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am  He,  ye  shall  die 
in  your  sins."""  "  He  that  believeth  not,  is  condemned 
already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God  ;  and  this  is  the  condemna- 
tion^ that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved 
darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  were 
evil."*  "  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  unto  them,  they 
had  not  had  sin,  but  now  they  have  no  cloak  for  their 
sin."'  And  agreeable  to  these  are  the  declarations  of 
his  apostles.  St.  John  reckons  the  "unbelieving" 
among  those  "  who  shall  have  their  portion  in  the  lake 
that  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone.""  St.  Paul  tells 
us,  that  "God  will  take  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
him  not,  and  that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  ;"""  and  the  author  to  the  Hebrews,  "how  shall 
we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation,  which  at 
the  first  began  to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  was 
confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that  heard  him  ;    God   also 


p  Heb.  ill,  12.  q  Mark  xvi.  16. 

r  John  viii.  24.  s  Johniii.  18,  19. 

<  John  XV.  22.  u  Rev.  xxi.  8. 

V  2  Thes.  i.  8. 
Vol.  v.— 11 


122  BISHOP  GIBSON  S 

bearing  them  witness  both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and 
with  divers  miracles,  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost."* 
And,  "he  that  despised  Moses'  law,  died  without  mercy 
— of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he 
be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son 
of  God,  and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant, 
wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  and  hath 
done  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace?"*  Agreeably  to 
what  John  the  Baptist  had  declared  to  the  Jews,  "  He 
that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."^ 

I  mention  these  things  to  show  the  infidels  of  our 
age,  that  to  believe  or  not  believe  is  far  from  being  a 
matter  of  indifference,  as  they  would  make  it ;  and  to 
convince  those  who  are  in  danger  of  being  seduced  by 
them,  how  nearly  they  are  concerned,  before  they  give 
up  themselves  to  such  guides,  to  give  the  evidences  of 
Christianity  a  thorough  and  impartial  examination. — 
For  which  end,  I  recommend  to  them  the  three  follow- 
ing tests  of  sincerity. — 1.  That  they  find  their  hearts 
sincerely  disposed  to  embrace  any  doctrine,  and  follow 
any  rule  of  life,  that  shall  appear  to  come  from  God. — 
2.  That  they  inwardly  wish  to  find  a  religion  well 
founded,  which  provides  a  remedy  for  the  corruptions  of 
our  nature,  and  ensures  to  good  men  a  state  of  happiness 
and  immortality  after  this  life. — 3.  That  they  find  in 
themselves  no  lust,  or  other  vice  or  passion,  which 
inclines  them  to  wish  that  such  a  religion  may  not  be 
well  founded.      Let  but  men,   before  they  enter  upon 

w  Heb.  ii.  3,  4.         ^  Heb.  x.  3,  28,  29. 

y  John  iii.  6.  [Several  eminent  interpreters  agree  with  Bishop  Gib- 
son in  attributing  this  passage  to  John  the  Baptist.  Indeed,  at  first 
sight,  its  position  in  the  gospel  seems  to  assign  it  to  the  Baptist  as  a  part 
of  his  testimony  to  the  Jews. — Yet  the  strong  resemblance  of  the  whole 
passage  (from  verse  31  to  the  end  of  the  chapter)  to  the  style  of  St.  John 
the  evangelist,  and  the  great  explicitness  of  its  declarations  concern- 
ing Christ,  which  appears  inconsistent  with  the  partial  knowledge 
of  Him  possessed  by  the  Baptist,  render  it  more  probable  that  this  is 
a  part  of  a  series  of  remarks  appended  by  the  apostle  to  the  Baptist's 
testimony,  as  suggested  by  it,  and  explanatory  of  its  rather  obscure 
intimations.  Besides,  there  appears  to  be  inverse  31  a  reference  to 
our  Saviour's  conversation  with  Nicodemus  (verse  13)  ;  in  verse  32 
another  (to  verse  11)  ;  and  in  verse  36  a  third  (to  verses  16.  18) :  which 
would  be  very  improbable,  were  the  passage  a  part  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist's declaration  ] 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  13^ 

their  examination,  put  the  heart  under  these  guards, 
and  I  am  firmly  persuaded  there  is  not  the  least  danger 
that  infidelity  will  ever  take  hold  of  it. 

But  how  great  soever  the  guilt  of  infidelity  may  be, 
that  of  a  zeal  to  promote  it  is  still  greater  ;  as  carrying 
in  it  not  only  all  the  aggravations  that  attend  the  disbe- 
lief of  a  revelation  from  God,  but  also   great  injustice 
and  uncharitableness  towards  men.     He  who  endeavors 
to  bring  others   to  a  belief  of  Christianity,   approves 
himself  to  be  a  lover  of  mankind,  in  showing  them  the 
way  to  an  eternity  of  happiness,  and  abridging  them 
only  of  such  enjoyments  as  would  be  evidently  injurious 
to  their  bodies  and  estates,  and  by  making  their  minds 
easy  and  quiet,  in  a  comfortable  assurance   that  at  all 
events  they  are  safe.     But  the  infidel,  while  he  indulges 
men  in  enjoyments  which   the  Gospel  forbids,  cannot 
assure  them  that  there  are  not  rewards  and  punishments 
in  another  world,  which  will  be  bestowed  and  inflicted 
by  the  rules  which  the  Gospel  lays   down.     And  as  in 
all  cases,  to  endeavor  to  persuade  men  out  of  the  belief 
of  things  which  for    ought  we   know  may  be  true,  is 
unfair ;  so  to  do  this  in  matters  which  nearly  concern 
their  welfare  and   interest,  is  unjust.     Nor  is  it  only 
unjust,  but   also    very    uncharitable,    to    endeavor   to 
deprive  men  of  a   belief,  upon  which  the  comfort  and 
happiness    of  their  lives  depends  ;  unless  such  belief 
were  attended  with  some  great  calamity  or  misery  in 
other  respects. 

And  further,  it  is  both  unjust  and  uncharitable  to 
society  and  government,  to  endeavor  to  root  out  of  the 
minds  of  men  those  powerful  restrains  from  wickedness 
and  violence,  that  Christianity  has  laid  them  under ; 
the  influences  of  which  are  a  great  security  to  peace 
and  order,  and  have  their  eflects  in  innumerable  cases 
that  human  laws  cannot  reach.  Add  to  this,  that  the 
highest  security  that  men  can  give  to  one  another,  is  an 
oath;  which  in  Christian  countries  is  taken  upon  the 
holy  gospels.  And  as  the  obligation  of  the  oath  so 
taken  is  understood  to  arise  from  a  belief  of  the  truth 
of  those  gospels,  and  of  the  threatenings  and  judgments 
denounced  by  them,  one  cannot  well  conceive  how  it 
should  take  hold  of  the  conscience  of  an  infidel.  So 
that  the  promoters  of  infidelity,  who  so  evidently  weaken 


124  BISHOP  Gibson's 

if  not  destroy  the  bonds  of  society  and  government, 
may  well  be  looked  upon  as  public  enemies  to  mankind. 
'Tis  true,  indeed,  in  exchange  for  the  comforts  and 
advantages  they  take  away  from  private  persons  and 
public  societies,  they  promise  a  quiet  and  uninterrupted 
enjoyment  of  pleasures  which  the  Christian  religion 
forbids  ;  but  in  this  too  they  are  unjust,  in  that  they 
promise  what  they  know  they  are  not  able  to  perform. 
The  utmost  progress  they  can  ordinarily  hope  for  in 
promoting  infidelity,  is  to  persuade  men  that  the  Gospel 
revelation,  which  contains  such  terrible  threatenings 
against  lust  and  uncleanness  of  all  kinds,  is  not  certainly 
true;  but  while  they  pretend  not  to  prove  that  it  is 
CERTAINLY  not  true^  they  cannot  free  a  course  of 
voluptuousness  from  great  mixtures  of  doubts  and  fears  ; 
and  these  are  perpetually  revived  and  heightened,  by 
seeing  such  numbers  of  wise  and  good  men  embrace 
the  Christian  faith,  and  act  upon  it ;  giving  in  their  lives 
a  daily  testimony  of  their  firm  belief  of  the  truth  of  it. 
For  though  this  is  not  a  direct  proof  that  the  Gospel  is 
true,  it  is  a  great  presumption  that  there  is  a  strength 
in  the  evidences  of  the  truth  of  it,  which  their  lusts  and 
passions  will  not  let  them  see ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  a  daily  warning  to  them,  that  the  contempt  of  it  is 
too  great  a  hazard  for  a  wise  man  to  run  ;  a  warning, 
that  the  most  hardened  infidel,  in  his  thoughtless  hours, 
and  in  the  time  of  sickness,  danger,  or  distress,  is  not 
able  to  resist. 


The  evidences  of  the  Christian  religion  are  comprised 
under  two  general  heads,  external  and  internal. 

The  external  evidences  are  those  which  prove  it  to 
be  of  divine  authority,  as,  the  fulfilling  of  ancient 
prophecies  in  Christ  ; — the  general  expectation  of  the 
Messiah  at  that  time; — the  miracles  wrought  by  Christ 
and  his  apostles  ; — his  foretelling  many  things  which 
punctually  came  to  pass  ; — and,  the  wonderful  propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  after  his  death. 

The  internal  evidences  are,  the  need  there  was  of  a 
revelation  from  God  to  instruct  and  reform  mankind  ;* — 

a  [This  should  rather  be  termed  a  priori  evidence.  Its  only  effect 
is  to  create  a  probability  that  the  other  evidences  of  the  Gospel  should 
be  true — to  clear  the  way  for  their  production.] 


SECOND  PASTORAL  LETTER.  125 

the  fitness  of  the  Gospel  revelation  for  that  end ; — the 
excellence  of  the  doctrines  contained  in  it ; — and,  the 
visible  tendency  of  the  whole  to  the  improvement  and 
perfection  of  human  nature  and  the  happiness  of  man- 
kind, in  this  world  and  the  next. 

In  this  and  my  former  letter,  I  have  laid  before  you 
the  evidences  of  both  sorts,  to  guard  you  against  the 
attacks  of  infidels,  and  to  keep  you  steadfast  in  the 
Christian  faith  ;  and  I  beseech  you  seriously  to  peruse 
what  I  have  written  for  your  use,  and  to  weigh  the 
several  parts  of  it  with  attention  and  impartiality,  as 
matters  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  you,  and  more 
especially  necessary  to  be  attended  to  in  these  days, 
when  the  cause  of  infidelity  is  so  openly  espoused,  and 
the  advocates  for  it  are  so  industrious  to  gain  prose- 
lytes. And  that  God  will  be  pleased  to  give  a  blessing 
to  these  endeavors  for  your  spiritual  good,  and  dispose 
your  hearts  to  attend  to  the  means  of  your  salvation, 
and  assist  you  in  your  inquiries  after  the  true  way  of 
it,  is,  and  shall  be,  the  hearty  prayer  of 

Your  faithful  friend  and  pastor, 

EDMUND  LONDON. 


IV 


BISHOP  OF  LONDON'S 

THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER; 

OCCASIONED  BY  THE   SUGGESTIONS  OP  INFIDELS  AGAINST  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THS 

NEW    TESTAMENT,    CONSIDERED   AS   A  DIVINE  RULE 

OP  FAITH  AND   MANNERS, 


In  my  two  former  letters,  I  have  laid  before  you  the 
evidences  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  drawn  from  the 
accounts  which  the  evangelists  give  us  of  our  Saviour 
Christ,*-  viz.  the  general  expectation  of  the  Messiah 
at  that  time,  arising  from  the  prophecies  concerning 
him  ;  the  many  and  great  miracles  which  he  wrought, 
in  confirmation  of  his  doctrine  and  mission  ;  his  pre- 
dictions  of  several  very  remarkable  events,  which  were 
afterwards  punctually  fulfilled  ;  and,  the  wonderful  pro- 
pagation of  the  Gospel  after  his  death  against  all  the 
powers  of  the  world,  and  the  lusts,  passions,  and  preju- 
dices of  mankind.  To  these  I  have  added  ^  the  evidences 
of  the  great  need  there  was  of  such  a  revelation  from 
God  ;  considering  the  gross  ignorance  and  corruption 
of  manners  into  which  the  world  was  sunk,  and  the 
inability  of  the  philosophers  to  enlighten  and  reform  it. 
And  this  led  me  to  lay  before  you'^  the  excellency  of  the 
Christian  institution  for  the  effecting  what  the  philoso- 
phers could  not  eflfect ; — the  great  advantage  of  a  divine 
authority,  to  ascertain  the  duties  and  doctrines  it  lays 
^iown ; — the  purity  of  its  precepts,  so  much  higher  and 
more  perfect,  than  those  which  mere  morality  pre- 
scribed ; — the  natural  tendency  of  them  to  fit  and  pre- 
pare the  soul  for  the  spiritual  exercises  of  the  next  life  ; 
— the  strict  restraints  which  the  Gospel  lays  upon  irre- 
gular enjoyments  of  all  kinds,  not  only  in  the  outward 
acts,  but  in  the  inward  imaginations  and  desires  ; — the 


*  First  Pastoral  Letter.  b  Second  Pastoral  Letter,  p.  69, 

c  Second  Pastoral  Letter,  p.  100,  ss. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  127 

full  assurance  it  gives  of  future  rewards  and  punishments 
to  excite  us  to  obedience,  and  the  supernatural  assistance 
it  promises,  to  enable  us  to  obey  ; — the  peace  and  satis- 
faction it  affords  the  mind,  by  discovering  a  plain  and 
certain  method  of  obtaining  the  pardon  of  sin,  and 
thereby  securing  the  love  and  favor  of  God  ; — the 
solid  foundation  it  lays  for  ease  and  comfort  under  all 
the  calamities  of  life,  and  more  especially  for  patience, 
resignation,  and  constancy  under  sufferings  and  perse- 
cutions for  righteousness'  sake  ; — the  means  it  provides 
for  preserving  an  habitual  sense  of  God  and  religion 
upon  the  miods  of  men,  by  the  appointment  of  a  mi- 
nistry, and  ordinances,  and  public  assemblies,  for  that 
end ; — and,  upon  the  whole,  the  perfection  and  hap- 
piness to  which  it  advances  human  nature,  both  in  this 
life,  and  in  the  next,  far  beyond  any  thing  that  the  mere 
natural  powers  of  body  and  mind  could  have  discovered 
and  attained  to. 

And  as  a  consequence  of  the  clear  and  undoubted 
evidences  of  our  Saviour's  mission  and  authority,  and 
of  the  excellency  of  the  Gospel  institution  ;  I  have 
further  shown^  the  indispensable  obligation  we  are 
under  to  attend  to  it  and  embrace  it ;  together  with  the 
folly,  perverseness,  and  sinfulness  of  not  embracing  it, 
and  much  more  of  despising  and  rejecting  it. 

Since  therefore  both  the  evidences  and  the  excellency 
of  the  Christian  institution,  and  of  the  whole  work  of 
our  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ,  are  so  fully  and 
clearly  laid  down  in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament, 
from  whence  I  drew  my  accounts  of  them  ;^  infidelity 
can  have  no  possible  refuge,  but  in  a  downright  disbelief 
of  the  truth  and  authority  of  those  writings  :— either  as 
forged  from  the  beginning,  or  conveyed  to  us  with 
great  corruptions ;  or  as  containing  facts  related  by 
persons  who  had  no  otedit,  and  doctrines  delivered  by 
those  who  had  no  authority.  This  is  the  refuge  to 
which  it  was  easily  foreseen  the  infidels  of  our  age  must 
have  their  final  recourse,  to  justify  their  rejecting  the 
doctrine    of  our    redemption   by   Christ,    and    their 


'^  Second  Pastoral  Letter ,  p.  119. 
•  Second  Pastoral  Letter^  p.  105,  ss. 


128  BISHOP  Gibson's 

avowed  disregard  of  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament 
further  than  as  they  contain  such  moral  precepts  as 
natural  reason  might  suggest,  and  such  as  may  in  their 
opinion  be  learnt  as  well,  if  not  better,  from  Heathen 
writers.  As  it  is  impossible  to  maintain  that  scheme, 
on  supposition  that  those  writings  are  true  and  genuine, 
and  that  the  doctrines  contained  in  them  subsist  upon  a 
divine  authority  ;  the  patrons  of  it  must  of  necessity  be 
driven  to  deny  one  or  other  of  those  assertions,  if  not 
both.  The  consequence  on  each  side  is  clear  and  un- 
doubted :  if  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  be  not 
authentic  {i,  e.  either  the  writings  not  genuine,  or  the 
authority  not  divine,)  the  infidel  scheme  is  well  founded; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  be  authentic  in  both 
those  respects,  Christianity  stands  unshaken  and  im- 
moveable, and  all  pretences  either  that  it  is  not  well 
founded,  or  that  it  is  no  more  than  mere  morality,  must 
fall  to  the  ground. 

This  is  a  point  which  I  touched  upon  in  my  first 
Pastoral  Letter.'  But  since  that  time,  the  patrons  of 
infidelity  have  told  us  openly  and  without  reserve,  how 
little  they  consider  the  Scriptures  as  a  rule  to  men, 
either  of  belief  or  practice.  They  plead  for  the  reading 
them  with  such  freedom,  as  to  '  assent  or  dissent,  just 
as  they  judge  it  agrees  or  disagrees  with  the  light  of 
nature  and  the  reason  of  things  ;'^  and  commend  those 
as  the  only  wise  men,  who  '  believe  not  the  doctrines, 
because  contained  in  Scripture,  but  the  Scripture  on 
account  of  the  doctrines  ;'^  who  '  admit  not  any  of  its 
doctrines  without  an  examination'  by  that  rule ;'  who 
*  admit  such  things  for  divine  Scripture,  as  [they  being 
judges]  tend  to  the  honor  of  God  and  the  good  of 
men,  and  nothing  else  ^^^  and,  who  '  do  not  admit  any 
thing  to  be  writ  by  divine  inspiration,  though  it  occurs 
ever  so  often  in  Scripture,  till  they  are  certain  it  will 
bear  the  test'^  they  lay  down.  They  insist  further,  how 
easily  mankind  may  be  '  imposed  on'  in  the  point  of 
revelation  ;  and  how  little  certainty  there  is  or  can  be, 
that  '  any  revelation  has  been  conveyed  entire  to  distant 
times  and  places  ;'  and  they  rest  much  upon  the  great 


'  Page,  32.  ^  Christianity  as  old  as  the  Creation,  p.  201. 

»»  Ibid.  p.  371,      i  Ibid.  p.  192.       k  ibid.  p.  328.       •  Ibid.  p.  185, 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  129 

number  of  '  various  readings  in  the  copies  of  the  New- 
Testament,'  as  rendering  it  uncertain  to  us  what  the 
true  text  was ;"»  and  allege,  that  '  no  court  of  judica- 
ture admits  of  a  copy,  though  taken  from  the  original, 
without  oath  made  by  a  disinterested  person,  of  his 
having  compared  it  with  the  original ;'  from  whence 
they  conclude,  how  *  unreasonable  it  is  absolutely  to 
depend,  in  things  of  the  greatest  moment,  on  voluminous 
writings,  which  have  been  so  often  transcribed  by  men 
who  never  saw  the  original.'" 

These,  and  others  of  the  like  tendency,  are  the 
principles  which  the  infidels  of  our  age  are  openly  and 
avowedly  advancing ;  that  by  destroying  the  credit  of 
the  holy  Scriptures,  they  may  make  way  for  their  own 
scheme  of  natural  religion.  And  there  are  also  others 
among  us,  who  though  they  do  not  dispute  our  receiving 
the  four  gospels  as  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  will 
not  agree  that  the  other  books  of  the  New  Testament 
have  a  right  to  be  considered  as  part  of  that  rule ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  have  taken  great  pains  to  represent 
some  of  those  books  as  of  doubtful  credit. 

Since  therefore  those  sacred  writings,  as  having  all 
of  them  the  stamp  of  divine  authority,  are  the  great 
charter  of  Christians,  upon  the  validity  of  which  their 
faith  and  their  hope  are  built ;  to  the  end  that  those 
whom  the  providence  of  God  has  placed  under  my 
care,  may  be  armed  at  all  points  against  the  attempts  of 
infidelity  and  every  approach  to  it,  I  have  judged  it 
expedient  to  enter  into  that  matter  more  fully  and 
distinctly,  in  order  to  give  you  a  clear  view  of  the 
evidences  both  of  the  truth  and  of  the  authority  of  those 
writings.  And  this  I  consider  as  in  some  sort  a  duty 
incumbent  on  me.  For  having  shown  you  in  my 
second  letter  the  insufficiency  of  reason  in  this  corrupt 
state  to  be  your  guide  in  matters  of  religion,  it  may 
well  be  expected,  that  I  also  show  you  what  is  a  sujffi- 
cient  guide,  and  where  the  directions  are  to  be  founds 
which  will  acquaint  you  with  the  certain  way  to  salva- 
tion, and  upon  which  you  may  securely  depend,  as  being 
the  guide  which  God  himself  has  given  you.     And  this 


»  Christianity  as  old  as  the  Creation,  p.  284.  334.       "  Ibid.  p.  324. 


130  BISHOP  GIBSON'3 

will  be  effectually  done,  by  making  good  the  following 

positions: 

I.  The  four  Gospels  contain  a  faithful  and  true 
account  of  the  birth,  life,  death,  resurrection  and  ascen- 
sion of  Jesus  Christ. 

II.  The  whole  scheme  of  Christianity  or  the  Gospel 
dispensation,  was  not  fully  opened  to  the  world  by 
Christ  himself  immediately,  in  the  course  of  his  minis- 
try ;  but  many  things  were  left  by  him  to  be  delivered 
or  explained  by  his  apostles,  whom  he  particularly 
instructed  and  commissioned  for  that  end. 

III.  The  apostles,  in  virtue  of  their  commission 
from  Christ,  being  not  only  to  testify  and  deliver  to 
the  world  the  things  which  they  had  seen  and  had  been 
taught  by  him,  but  further  to  open  and  explain  the 
Gospel  dispensation ;  were  under  the  guidance  and 
assistance  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  they  received, 
according  to  his  promise,  before  they  entered  upon 
their  ministry. 

IV.  What  the  things  are,  relating  to  the  Gospel 
dispensation,  which  the  apostles  were  to  open  and 
explain,  pursuant  to  the  commission  and  instruction 
received  from  Christ  and  under  the  guidance  and 
assistance  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  must,  in  conjunction 
with  the  gospels,  be  learned  from  their  preaching  and 
writings,  as  delivered  to  us  in  their  acts  and  epistles. 

V.  The  books  of  the  New  Testament,  in  which  the 
doctrines  delivered  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  are 
contained,  have  been  faithfully  transmitted  to  the 
Christians  of  succeeding  ages. 

VI.  The  doctrines  of  the  apostles,  contained  in  their 
epistles  and  in  the  Acts,  together  Avith  what  is  taught 
by  our  Saviour  in  the  gospels,  were  designed  to  be  a 
standing  rule  of  faith  and  manners  to  Christians  in 
all  ages,  and  were  from  the  beginning  considered  and 
receiv^ed  as  such,  by  the  Churches  of  Christ. 

I.  The  four  gospels  contain  a  faithful  and  true 
account  of  the  birth,  life,  death,  resurrection  and  ascen- 
sion of  Jesus  Christ. 

W^hen  we  would  be  satisfied  concerning  the  truth  of 
any  history,  the  two  things  we  chiefly  inquire  after 
are,  the  knowledge  the  writer  had  of  his  subject,  and 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  131 

the  character  he  bore  in  point  of  integrity :  the  first,  to 
convince  us  that  he  could  not  be  imposed  upon  himself; 
and  the  second,  that  he  had  no  inclination  or  design  to 
impose  upon  others.  Now,  that  there  was  such  a 
person  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  lived  at  the  time  the 
gospels  speak  of,  and  who  made  choice  of  several 
persons  to  be  his  disciples,  are  facts,  which  the  greatest 
enemies  of  Christianity  have  never  denied  ;"  and  if  they 
had  denied  them,  they  would  have  been  effectually 
confuted  by  writers  of  undoubted  credit,  who  lived  at  the 
time,  and  in  the  age  which  immediately  followed."  Of 
these  disciples  in  general,  it  is  affirmed,  and  has  never 
been  denied  or  questioned,  that  they  left  their  several 
callings  and  occupations,  to  the  end  they  might  be 
wholly  at  liberty  to  attend  Jesus,  and  receive  his 
instructions  : — "  He  ordained  twelve,  that  they  should 
be  with  him  :"p  who,  with  others,  accompanied  him 
*'  all  the  time  that  he  went  in  and  out  among  them ; 
beginning  from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  the  same  day 
that  he  was  taken  up  from  them  :"i  and  having  been 
"  with  him  from  the  beginning,"  they  were  qualified  to 
"  bear  witness""-  of  the  things  that  were  done  and  spoken 
by  him.  And  what  we  find  particularly  declared  by 
one,  might  be  truly  said  by  all  of  them,  wherever  they 
preached,  "That  which  we  have  heard,  which  we  have 
seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked   upon,    and 


n  [This  is  no  longer  true.  The  idle  dreams  of  Volnet  and  Drum- 
MOND,  who  would  explain  away  the  historical  facts  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  and  the  transactions  of  his  apostles  into  an  astronomical  allegory 
of  the  sun  and  the  twelve  ecliptic  signs  (! !),  entitle  them  at  least  to  the 
praise  of  originality  in  their  efforts  to  subvert  the  everlasting  Gospel ; 
although,  as  might  easily  have  been  predicted,  very  far  from  giving 
them  equal  claims  to  that  of  success.  The  preposterous  speculations 
of  the  Frenchman  are  still  sedulously  circulated  by  the  enemies  of 
Christianity,  who  little  reck  with  what  tools  they  do  their  work  :  but 
his  disciple  has  honorably  retracted  the  crude  production  of  his  youth, 
and  ranked  himself  among  the  defenders  of  the  authenticity  of  sacred 
history. — Beside|  these  learned  skeptics,  Paine,  Carlisle,  and  others 
among  the  rabble  of  infidelity,  with  true  infidel  logic  and  consistency, 
have  both  denied  and  asserted  the  reality  of  the  existence  of  Jesus,  as 
occasion  served ;  and  AVhen  they  chose  the  former  alternative,  without 
deigning  to  attempt  a  rationale  of  the  phenomenon  of  the  existence 
of  Christianity  !] 

o  [See  Standard  Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  41.  44.] 

p  Mark  iii.  14.  q  Acts  i.  21.  ^  John  xv.  27. 


132  BISHOP  Gibson's 

our  hands  have  handled,  declare  we  unto  you.""  The 
things  they  recorded  as  said  and  done  by  Christ,  they 
heard  from  his  own  mouth,  and  saw  with  their  own 
eyes,  and  did  not  deliver  them  upon  the  report  of 
others.  Nor  did  they  only  see  him,  so  as  to  have  a 
transient  view  of  him;  but  they  'looked  upon  him,' 
and  had  long-continued  views  of  him,  and  conversed 
familiarly  with  him.  And,  that  their  eyes  might  not  be 
deceived,  either  with  regard  to  his  person  or  miracles, 
they  not  only  touched,  but  'handled:'  their  own  hands 
distributed  the  loaves ;  and  after  his  resurrection,  they 
were  all  directed,  not  only  to  "behold  his  hands  and 
his  feet,"*  to  satisfy  them  that  it  was  he  himself,  but  also 
to  "handle"  him,  that  they  might  be  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  he  had  "flesh  and  bones,"  and  so  could  not 
be  a  spirit,  as  they  at  first  suspected.  And  one  of  them, 
who  was  more  distrustful  than  the  rest,  was  commanded 
even  to  "thrust  his  hand  into"  the  wound  "in  his  side."" 
The  same  persons  who  were  thus  prepared,  by  all 
ordinary  and  7iatural  qualifications,  to  give  an  account 
of  the  life  and  actions  of  Christ,  received  also  a  super- 
natural assistance  for  the  work,  by  his  sending  the 
Holy  Ghost,  for  this  among  other  ends,  that  he  might 
"bring  all  things  to  their  remembrance,  whatever  he 
had  said  unto  them.""  And  two  of  these,  so  enabled 
by  all  helps  natural  and  supernatural,  wrote  two  of  the 
gospels,  namely  Matthew  and  John.  As  to  Mark 
and  Luke,  the  other  two  evangelists — it  is  affirmed  by 
some  of  the  ancients,  that  they  were  two  of  the  seventy 
disciples, whom  our  Lord  "sent before  his  face  to  every 
city  and  place  whither  he  himself  would  come  ;"'*^  to 
whom  he  gave  power  to  "  heal  the  sick,"  and  to 
"cast  out  devils;"  and  said  unto  them,  as  he  had  done 
to  the  twelve  apostles,  "He  that  heareth  you,  heareth 
me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  me."""  But 
however  that  be  ;  after  our  Saviour's  ascension  we 
find  them  expressly  mentioned  as  fellow-laborers  with 
St.  Paul,  to  whom  the  whole  Gospel  had  been  immedi- 
ately revealed  from  heaven,  and  one   of  them  with  St. 


»  1  John  i.  1.  t  Luke  xxiv.  39. 

"  John  XX.  27.  >'  John  xiv.  26. 

'^  Luke  X.  L  *  Luke  x.  9.  17.  16. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  133 

Peter,  whom  Christ  chose  to  be  with  him  in  the  whole 
course  of  his  ministry.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  Mark,  as 
his  fellow-laborer  in  the  Gospel,  whom  we  accordingly 
find  with  him  when  he  wrote  his  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians  and  that  to  Philemon  ;*  and  when  he  commands 
Timothy  to  come  to  him,  he  directs  him  to  '  take  Mark 
and  bring  him  with  him,  as  one  profitable  to  him  in  the 
ministry.'^  St.  Peter  mentions  him  in  his  first  Epistle,  as 
then  with  him,  and  also  calls  him  "his  son  ;"*  a  name 
which  we  find  applied  in  the  New  Testament  to  those 
whom  the  apostles  had  instructed  in  the  faith  and  con- 
verted, and  to  those  who  labored  with  them  in  instructing 
and  converting  others  :  for  in  this  sense,  St.  Paul  says 
of  Timothy,  "as  a  son  with  the  father,  he  hath  served 
me  in  the  Gospel  ;"*  and  of  Titus,  "mine  own  son  after 
the  common  faith."''  Luke  also  is  called  by  St.  Paul 
his  "fellow  laborer  ;""=  whom  we  find  accompanying 
him  in  his  travels,  and  particularly  to  have  been  with 
him  when  he  wrote  his  Epistles  to  the  Colossians,  to 
Timothy,  and  to  Philemon.** 

Accordingly,  the  accounts  which  the  ancients  give  of 
those  two  gospels  and  the  Avriters  of  them,  are  as 
follows.  IrenvEUs  says,  '  that  Mark,  the  disciple  and 
interpreter  of  Peter,  committed  those  things  to  writing 
which  had  been  related  to  him  by  Peter,  and  that  Luke, 
the  companion  of  Paul,  recorded  in  a  book  the  Gospel 
which  Paul  preached.'"  And  elsewhere,  he  says  of 
St.  Luke,  "  that  he  was  an  inseparable  companion  of 
St.  Paul,  and  his  fellow  laborer  in  the  Gospel. "^  Ter- 
TULLiAN  says,  *that  the  gospel  which  Mark  published, 
is  affirmed  to  be  Peter's,  whose  interpreter  he  was  (as 
writing  in  Greek  what  he  had  heard  St.  Peter  deliver 
to  the  Jews  in  their  own  language)  and  that  which  was 
drawn  up  by  Luke,  is  ascribed  to  Paul.'°  Eusebius 
relates,  upon  the  authority  of  more  ancient  writers, 
'  that  the  Christians  at  Rome  prevailed  with  Mark  to 
set  down    in    writing  the  doctrine  which  Peter  had 


X  Col.  iv.  10,  11.    Philem.  24.  y  2  Tim.  iv.  11. 

1  1  Pet.  V.  13.  a  Phil.  ii.  22. 

b  Tit.  i.  4.  <^  Philem.  24. 

d  Acts  X.  10.     Col.  iv.  14.     2  Tim.   iv.  11.     Philem.  24. 

e  Iren.  Lib.  III.  c.  i.  <"  Iren.  Lib.  111.  c.  xiv, 

f  Tektull,  Contra  Marcion.  Lib.  IV.  c.  v. 

Vol.  v.— 13 


134 

preached  ;  and  that  afterwards  Peter  confirmed  it,  and 
authorized  it  to  be  publicly  read  in  their  assemblies.'^ 
And  elsewhere,  from  Origen,  'The  second  gospel  is 
that  of  Mark,  who  set  it  down  as  it  was  delivered  to  him 
by  Peter  ;  and  the  third,  that  of  Luke,  which  is  com- 
mended by  St.  Paul.''  To  these  we  must  add  what 
the  same  Eusebius  says,  as  handed  down  by  tradition 
to  his  time,  '  that  St.  John  approved  the  three  other 
gospels,  and  gave  his  testimony  in  favor  of  them."-' 
And,  'that  copies  of  these  holy  gospels  were  with 
great  zeal  conveyed  to  remote  countries,  by  those  who 
succeeded  the  apostles  in  the  propagation  of  the  Christian 
faith  :'^  and  they  were  read  in  the  public  assemblies 
and  received  as  the  foundation  of  that  faith  ;'^  without 
the  least  mark  of  distinction  in  point  of  authority. 

Thus  stands  the  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel 
history,  with  regard  to  the  exact  knowledge  the  writers 
had  of  their  subject ;  which  shows  that  they  were  not 
imposed  upon  themselves.  And  if  it  shall  also  appear 
that  they  were  persons  of  integrity^  and  had  no  inclina- 
tion or  design  to  impose  upon  others,  the  evidence  is  as 
complete,  as  can  well  be  given  of  any  ancient  facts 
whatsoever.  With  this  view,  let  us  consider  the  cha- 
racter and  condition  of  the  persons, — and  the  time  and 
manner  of  their  writing;  with  other  circumstances,  from 
whence  we  may  judge  whether  or  no  they  are  attended 
with  any  marks  or  suspicions  of  fraud  or  design. 

So  far  were  x\ie  persons  from  being  artful  or  designing 
men,  that  they  were  reproached  by  the  enemies  of 
Christianity,  as  rude  and  mean,  simple  and  illiterate ; 
and  so  far  were  they  from  having  any  worldly  views  of 
profit,  or  pleasure,  or  honor,  after  they  set  out  on  the 
work  of  propagating  the  Gospel ;  that  persecution, 
aflfliction,  and  reproach,  were  almost  the  constant 
attendants  of  the  propagators  of  it."  As  to  the  time^ 
they  wrote  and  published  their  gospels  while  the 
matters  were  fresh  in  memory,  and  while  many  persons. 


h  EusEB.  Lib.  Ill,  c.  XV,  i   Ibid.  Lib.  VI.  c.  xxv. 

^  Ibid.  Lib,  III.  c.  xxiv.  ^  Ibid.  c.  xxxvii. 

■1  Just.  Mar.  Apol.  II.     Iren.  Lib.  III.  c.  xi,  xii. 
n  [See  SLujidard  Works,  Vol.  L  p.  283,  s.] 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  135 

were  living  who  wanted  not  inclination  to  detect  them, 
if  they  could  have  been  convicted  of  falsehood.  And  as 
to  their  manner  of  writing,"  it  is  plain,  open,  and 
undisguised ;  free  from  all  appearance  of  art  or  con- 
trivance, and  carries  in  it  this  signal  testimony  of  truth 
and  impartiality,  that  they  freely  confess  and  record  the 
faihngsand  weaknesses  of  themselves  and  their  brethren, 
viz.  the  frequent  rebukes  they  received  from  their 
master  for  their  ignorance  and  slowness  of  understand- 
ing ;  their  views  of  temporal  power  and  grandeur, 
during  their  attendance  upon  him  ;  and  at  last,  their 
shameful  denial  and  desertion  of  him.  If  we  consider 
the  facts  contained  in  the  Gospel  history,  and  the  ten- 
dency of  them,  they  are  such  as  overthrow  the  rehgion 
both  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  therefore  could  not 
escape  the  severest  scrutiny. p  And  if  we  consider  the 
numbers  who  afterwards  undertook  to  attest  and 
publish  those  facts,  it  is  incredible  that  if  they  were  not 
true,  no  one  of  them  should  be  prevailed  with,  either 
by  hope  or  fear,  to  discover  the  imposture ;  and  next 
to  impossible  to  suppose,  that  all  of  them  should  submit 
to  the  severest  trials,  and  many  ot  them  to  death  itself^ 
rather  than  deny  them. 

These  are  the  evidences  that  the  evangelists  could  not 
he  deceived  themselves,  and  that  they  had  no  intention 
or  desire  to  deceive  others.  And  we  accordingly  find 
all  the  four  gospels  under  the  names  of  the  several 
evangelists  distinctly  spoken  of  by  the  most  early 
writers  of  the  Church,  as  the  known  and  undoubted 
records  of  our  Saviour's  life  and  actions,  and  as  such, 
received  by  all  Christian  Churches,  and  read  in  their 
public  assemblies.  Clement,  the  disciple  of  St.  Paul, 
cites  many  passages  out  of  them ;  and  in  one  place,  after 
having  quoted  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  he  adds,  "  and 
another  Scripture  saith,"  and  then  quotes  the  gospel  of 
St.  Matthew.i  In  another  place,  he  cites  the  gospel  of 
St,  Luke,  with  these  words  immediately  prefixed,  "The 
Lord  saith  in  the  gospel."      Polycarp,   a  disciple  of 

°  [See  Standard  Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  285,  s.] 

p  [See  Sumner's  Evidences^  Chap.  II. — Standard  Works,  Vol  I., 
p.  320,  ss.l 

<i  Clem.  Ep.  ad  Cor.  Ep.  II.  Sect.  2.  8. 


136  BISHOP    GIBSON^S 

St.  John,  mentions  these  four  gospels  distinctly  and  by 
name,  with  particular  circumstances  relating  to  each/ 
Justin  Martyr,  speaking  of  the  institution  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  says,  "The  apostles  in  their  records^  which 
are  called  gospels,  declared  that  it  was  commanded  by 
Christ  to  be  so  performed  ;"'  and  a  little  after  adds, 
'that  those  records  were  publicly  read  in  the  Christian 
assemblies  on  the  Lord's  day  :'  and  in  his  other  works 
he  uses  the  same  style  of  "  the  records  of  the  apostles," 
and  cites  several  passages  out  of  them,  as  the  standing 
records  of  the  Church/  Ta.tian,  the  disciple  of  Justin, 
reduced  the  four  gospels  into  one,  which  in  after  ages 
was  usually  called  the  harmony  of  the  four  gospels.'' 
Iren^us  gives  this  account  of  all  the  four,  which  hath 
already  been  taken  notice  of  in  part  ;^  "  Matthew," 
says  he,  "  delivered  his  gospel  to  the  Hebrews,  while 
Peter  and  Paul  preached  at  Rome ;  after  whose  departure, 
Mark,  the  disciple  and  interpreter  of  Peter,  conveyed 
to  us  in  writing  the  things  which  Peter  had  preached ; 
and  Luke,  the  companion  of  Paul,  recorded  in  a  book 
the  gospel  which  Paul  preached.  Afterwards,  John,  the 
4isciple  of  our  Lord,  who  also  leaned  on  his  breast  at 
supper,  published  his  gospel  while  he  stayed  at  Ephesus 
in  Asia."  The  same  Iren^eus,  speaking  of  the  author- 
ity of  the  gospels,  says,  '  that  the  very  heretics  gave 
their  testimony  to  them,  while  each  labored  to  support 
his  opinion  from  them  ;'  and  as  to  the  number,  '  that 
they  were  neither  more  nor  less  than  four,  and  that 
they  who  made  them  either  more  or  fewer,  were  vain, 
ignorant,  and  presumptuous.'*  Clement,  speaking  of 
a  passage  cited  out  of  the  Egyptian  gospel,  says, 
"It  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  four  gospels  which  have 
been  delivered  down  to  us."y  And  Origen,  mention- 
ing the  writers  of  the  four  gospels  by  name,  and  in  their 
order,  says,  *that  those  alone  (and  no  other  gospels) 
had  been  universally  received  in  the  Church.'' 

r  Grabe,  Not.  in  Irenceum.  p.  205.  ■  Justin.  Apol.  II. 

<  Justin  Dial,  cum  Tryph.  p.  327,  328,  329.  331,  332,  333,  334.] 
"  EusEB.  Ecc.  Hist.  Lib.  IV.  c.  xxix.     '  Monotessaron J 
'  Iren.  Adv.  Hear.  Lib.  HI.  c.  1. 

•  Page  133. 

•  Iren.  Lib.  III.  c.  xi. 

'  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  Lib.  III. 

•  Oriqen.  Com.  in  Matt.  p.  203. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  IZf 

The  faithful  transmission  of  the  gospels  to  future 
ages,  is  a  point  that  will  fall  properly  under  the  fifth 
general  head;  and  therefore  I  will  shut  up  this  first 
head,  after  I  have  shown  in  a  few  words,  that  several 
of  the  facts  related  in  the  gospels,  receive  confirmation 
from  the  testimony  of  other  historians,  both  Jewish 
and  Pagan,  who  lived  at  or  near  the  time.  I  have 
observed  before,  that  it  has  never  been  denied  by  the 
writers  of  either  sort,  that  there  was  such  a  person  as 
Jesus,  who  lived  in  Judea,  and  suffered  death  upon  the 
cross,  at  the  time  mentioned  in  the  gospels.  The  name 
which  the  Jews  have  given  him^  with  reference  to  his 
crucifixion  (however  reproachfully  intended)  is  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  truth  of  the  fact ;  for  which,  and 
for  other  particulars  relating  to  him,  the  Christians 
appealed  to  the  accounts  transmitted  to  Rome ;"  accord- 
ing to  the  known  usage  of  the  governors  making  returns 
thither  of  the  transactions  in  their  respective  provinces. 
"  All  these  things  concerning  Christ,"  says  Tertullian, 
"were  reported  by  Pilate'^  to  Tiberius  Caesar."  The 
same  is  attested  by  Tacitus,  a  Roman  historian  of  un- 
doubted credit;  who,  speaking  of  the  Christians,  says» 
"  They  take  the  name  from  Christ,  who  was  put  to 
death  in  the  time  of  the  emperor  Tiberius,  by  Pontius 
Pilate."'^  Nor  did  Julian^  himself,  the  bitterest  enemy 
that  Christianity  ever  had,  deny  that  there  was  such  a  per- 
son, or  affirm  that  there  was  no  foundation  for  the  truth 
of  the  Gospel  history  :  on  the  contrary,  he  owns  the 
gospels  to  have  been  written  by  the  persons  whose 
names  they  bear,'  and  only  blames  them  for  magnifying 
the  works  of  their  master  beyond  measure  ; — the  truth 
and  reality  of  which  works,  Celsus  also  does  in  effect 
acknowledge,  when  he  ascribes  them  to  art  magic^— . 
defences,  which  neither  of  these  would  have  had  re- 
course to,  if  they  could  have  proved  that  the  books 
themselves  were  spurious  ;  nor  would  they  have  omitted 
to  take  the  advantage  even  of  a  suspicion  of  their  being 
spurious,  but  that  they  knew  there  was  no  foundation 
for  it. 


*  The  person  hanged,  b  Tertull.  Apol. 

e  'ActaPilatii.'  d  Tacit,  ilnnai.  Lib.  XV.  c.xHr, 

«  [The  Apostate.]  f  Cyril,  Lib.  VL  &  X. 

«  FtTst  Pastoral  Letter,  p.  39* 


138 

There  are  many  other  facts  which  the  evangelists 
relate,  that  are  also  attested  both  by  Heathen  and  Jewish 
writers.  The  Gospels  frequently  mention  the  warnings 
which  Christ  gave  his  disciples  and  followers,  that 
they  must  reckon  upon  a  state  of  great  trials  and  suffer- 
ings for  the  sake  of  his  religion  ;  and  Tacitus,^  Sue- 
tonius,' and  Pliny,''  are  witnesses,  how  very  terrible 
those  persecutions  were.'  The  evangelists  mention 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  as  foretold  by  our 
3aviour ;  and  the  account  given  of  that  destruction  by 
JosEPHUs,  the  Jewish  historian,*"  which  exactly  corres- 
ponds with  what  they  relate  from  the  mouth  of  Christ, 
is  a  testimony  to  the  truth  of  that  relation.  As  the 
same  Josephus  has  also  confirmed  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel  history  in  general,  by  the  accounts  he  gives  of 
the  Roman  governors,"  and  the  Jewish  economy  at  that 
time;°  being  agreeable  both  as  to  persons  and  things, 
with  the  accounts  which  the  evangelists  give  us  of  them. 

II.  The  whole  scheme  of  Christianity,  or  the  Gospel 
dispensation,  was  not  fully  opened  to  the  world  hy 
Christ  himself  immediately,  in  the  course  of  his  mi- 
nistry;  hut  many  things  were  left  by  him  to  he  deli- 
vered or  explained  hy  his  apostles,  whom  he  particularly 
instructed,  and  commissioned  for  that  end. 

The  office  of  John  the  Baptist  was  only  to  give  notice 
that  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  or  of  God,  i,  e.  of  the 
Messiah,  was  at  hand,  and  to  summon  men  to  repent- 
ance as  a  necessary  qualification  to  be  admitted  mem- 
bers of  that  kingdom,  and  to  "  escape  the  wrath  to 
come."  "  Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand."p  The  like  commission  was  given  by  Christ  to 
the  twelve  apostles,  when  he  first  sent  them  forth ; 
"  As  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
at  hand  ;"q  and  to  the  seventy  disciples,  when  he  sent 
them  two  and  two  before  his  face  into  every  city  and 
place  whither  he  himself  would  come  ;  "  Say  unto  them, 


!•  Tacit.  Ann.  Nero.  '  Suet  ON.  Vit  Neronis. 

k  Plin.  Ep.  Lib.  X.  Ep.  xcvii. 

'  [Compare  Paley's  Evidences,  Part  I.  chap,  ii.] 

»"  First  Pastoral  Letter^  p.  44.         "  Pilate,  FeUx,  Festus,  &c. 

•  Sanhedrim,  &uc,.  P  Matt.  iii.  S. 

1  Matt.  X.  7. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  139 

the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you.'""  In  like 
manner,  Jesus  himself  *'  went  about  all  the  cities  and 
villages,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preaching 
the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom,"^  or  the  good  news  of  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah.  But  he  was  so  far  from  openly 
proclaiming  or  owning  himself  to  be  the  Messiah,  that 
he  industriously  concealed  it,  lest  the  Jews,  who  ex- 
pected a  temporal  deliverer  from  the  Roman  yoke, 
should  break  out  into  rebellion,  and  make  him  ob- 
noxious to  the  Roman  power  before  the  completion  of 
his  ministry.  When  Peter,  in  the  name  of  the  disci- 
ples, had  declared  to  him  their  full  conviction  that  he 
was  "  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God  ;"'  the  charge 
he  immediately  gave  them,  was,  that  they  should  "  tell 
no  7nan,  that  he  was  Jesus  the  Christ.""  When  the 
unclean  spirits  fell  down  before  him,  and  cried,  saying, 
"  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God,"  (a  known  appellation  of 
the  Messiah  among  the  Jews)  it  immediately  follows, 
that  "  Jesus  strictly  charged  them,  that  they  should  not 
make  him  known.'"''  After  his  transfiguration  upon  the 
mount,  and  a  voice  from  heaven  declaring  him  to  be  the 
Son  of  God  ;  Jesus  charges  the  three  disciples  who 
were  with  him,  that  "  they  should  tell  the  vision  to  no 
man,  until  the  Son  of  man  was  risen  again  from  the 
dead."^  Nor  did  he  ever  make  a  public  profession 
and  acknowledgment  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  till  he 
was  arraigned,  first  before  the  council  of  the  Jews,  and 
then  before  Pontius  Pilate,*  i.  e.  after  he  had  finished 
his  ministry  upon  earth,  and  there  was  no  danger  either 
that  the  people  would  raise  a  sedition  upon  his  account, 
or  that  he  should  be  arraigned  and  put  to  death  before 
the  appointed  time.  But  with  regard  to  the  people,  the 
great  aim  and  design  of  his  ministry  was,  first  to  con- 
vince them  by  his  miracles  that  he  was  a  prophet  sent 
from  God  ;  which  being  joined  to  the  general  expecta- 
tion of  the  Messiah  at  that  time,  might  lead  them  to 
suppose  that  he  was  the  person ;  and  then,  to  prepare 
them  for  the  reception  of  the  Gospel,  by  taking  off  the 


»•  Luke  X.  9.  »  Matt.  ix.  35. 

t  Matt.  xvi.  16.  20.  «  Mark  iii.  II,  12. 

▼  Luke  iv.  41.  ■*  Matt.  xvii.  9. 

3c  Mark  xiv.  62.  Luke  xxii.  70.  John  xviii.  37, 


140  BISHOP  GIBSOK^d 

carnal  and  corrupt  glosses  which  the  Scribes  and  Pha- 
risees had  put  upon  the  moral  law,  and  by  laying  open 
the  pride,  covetousness,  and  hypocrisy  of  those  teachers  r 
and  this,  in  order  to  convince  the  people,  how  unfit 
they  were  to  be  guides  in  religion  ;  and  by  that  means 
to  set  them  at  liberty  from  the  influence  and  authority 
of  persons,  whose  interest  it  was,  and  whose  endeavor 
it  would  be,  to  give  all  the  opposition  they  could  to  the 
Gospel,  that  they  might  preserve  and  maintain  their 
power.  But  what  he  said  to  the  people  concerning  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  or  the  Gospel  state,  and  the  nature 
and  future  progress  of  it,  was  for  the  most  part  delivered 
in  parables ;  which  he  explained  to  his  disciples  when 
they  were  alone,  to  let  them  by  degrees  into  some  un- 
derstanding of  the  nature  and  design  of  that  spiritual 
kingdom  which  he  intended  to  establish  ;y  reserving  the 
complete  and  perfect  discovery  thereof,  till  he  had 
finished  the  great  work  of  our  redemption  by  his  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  and  had  fully  prepared  them  for 
the  publication  of  the  Gospel,  by  sending  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  instruct  and  strengthen  them.  For  we  find  in 
the  course  of  our  Saviour's  ministry,  that  notwithstand- 
ing the  lights  he  occasionally  gave  them,  their  know- 
ledge of  these  things  was  very  imperfect.  He  often 
complains  of  the  slowness  of  their  understanding,  in 
that  they  did  not  apprehend  the  design  of  his  parables,^ 
nor  arrive  at  a  firm  and  steadfast  faith  in  him,  by  the 
frequent  opportunities  they  had  of  hearing  his  doctrine 
and  seeing  his  miracles.''  When  he  first  "  began  to 
show  them,  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem  and  suffer 
many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests  and  scribes, 
and  be  killed,  and  be  raised  again  the  third  day;'"* 
Peter,  who  before  had  made  so  full  a  confession  of  his 
belief  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  "  began  to  rebuke"  him 
for  these  sayings — "  Be  it  far  from  thee,  Lord  ;  this 
shall  not  be  unto  thee."  Upon  which  our  Lord  told 
him,  that  '  he  savored  not  the  things  that  be  of  God, 
but  those  that  be  of  men.''^     And  on  a  like  occasion  St* 


y  Matt.  xiii.  34.  Mark  iv,  11.  Mark  iv.  34. 

2  Matt.  XV.  16.  Mark  vii.  18. 

a  Matt.  xvi.  8.  11.  Mark  viii.  14.  17.  21. 

b  Matt.  xvi.  21.  «  Matt.  xvi.  22,  23. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  l4l 

Luke  says,  that  "  they  understood  none  of  these  things, 
and  this  saying  was  hid  from  them,  neither  knew  they 
the  things  which  were  spoken."'^  When  the  Samari- 
tans would  not  receive  him  in  his  way  to  Jerusalem, 
twoother  of  his  disciples,  James  and  John,  who,  together 
with  Peter,  were  most  conversant  with  him,  desired 
leave  to  "  command  fire  to  come  down  from  heaven, 
and  consume  them,"  as  Elias  had  done  in  a  like  case  ; 
and  they  received  this  rebuke  from  him,  "  Ye  know  not 
what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of,  (i.  e.  how  different  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel  is  from  that  of  the  Law,)  for  the  Son 
of  man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save 
them."e  In  the  whole  course  of  his  ministry,  they  evi- 
dently reckoned  upon  his  setting  up  a  temporal  king- 
dom, and  had  strifes  among  themselves  which  of  them 
should  be  the  greatest  ;^  and  even  after  his  resurrection, 
the  question  they  ask  him  upon  that  head,  is,  "  Whether 
he  will  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel."^  All 
which,  together  with  the  acts  of  forsaking  and  denying 
him,  the  difficulty  they  showed  in  believing  his  resur- 
rection, and  that  slowness  of  heart  with  which  he  up- 
braided them  for  not  applying  the  prophecies  concern- 
ing him  even  after  he  had  suffered  and  was  risen  f'rom 
the  dead ;'»  are  undeniable  testimonies,  how  imperfect 
notions  they  had  as  yet  of  the  nature  and  economy  of 
the  Gospel  state,  and  how  great  need  there  was  of 
those  further  instructions  which  he  gave  them  during 
the  "  forty  days,"  in  which  he  *'  was  seen  of  them" 
after  his  resurrection,  and  spake  "  of  the  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  kingdom  of  God  ;"'  arid  this,  evidently,  in 
order  to  qualify  them  for  the  due  discharge  of  the  com- 
mission they  received  from  him  immediately  before  his 
ascension  into  heaven,  "  Go  ye,  and  teach  all  nations.""^ 
— "  Go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you."' 


^  Luke  xviii.  34.  «  Luke  ix.  54,  55,  56. 

f  Matt,  xviii.  \.  ii.  20.  24.  Luke  xxu.  24. 

^  Acts  i.  6.  k  Luke  xxiv.  25. 

■'  Acts  i.  3.  ^  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

>  Mark.  xvi.  15.  [On  the  subject  of  this  head  see  Standard  Works, 
Vol.  IL  p.  22  s.  and  the  references  in  note  ^  ;  to  which  may  be  added 
Horne's  Introduction^  Vol, IV. Part  II.  Ch.  iii. Sect. 2, — Dr.  Whately's 


142  BISHOP  Gibson's 

III.  The  apostles,  in  virtue  of  their  commission  from 
Christ,  being  not  only  to  testify  and  deliver  to  the  world 
the  things  which  they  had  seen  and  been  taught  by  him^ 
but  further  to  open  and  explain  the  Gospel  dispensation; 
were  under  the  guidance  and  assistance  of  the  Holy  - 
Ghost,  which  they  received  according  to  his  promise, 
before  they  entered  upon  their  ministry. 

The  frequent  assurances  they  had  from  our  Saviour 
that  they  should  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  distinctly 
recorded  in  the  four  evangelists;  the  truth  and  authority 
of  whose  writings  is  fully  shown  under  the  first  head. 
But  because  the  proof  of  their  having  this,  and  several 
other  promises  of  our  Saviour,  punctually  fulfilled  to 
them,  do  all  depend  upon  testimonies  fetched  from  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles ;  it  Avill  be  proper  in  this  place  to 
establish  the  credit  of  that  history,  in  the  same  manner 
that  the  credit  of  the  four  evangelists  has  been  already 
established.  And  that  the  writer  of  it  was  St.  Luke  the 
evangelist,  appears  evident  by  comparing  the  introduc- 
tion to  his  gospel  with  that  of  the  Acts.  The  gospel 
begins  thus  :  "Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand 
to  set  forth  in  order  a  declaration  of  those  things  which 
are  most  surely  believed  among  us,  even  as  they  deli- 
vered them  unto  us,  which  from  the  beginning  were  eye- 
witnesses and  ministers  of  the  word  :  it  seemed  good  to 
me  also,  having  had  perfect  understanding  of  all  things 
from  the  very  first,  to  write  unto  thee  in  order,  most 
excellent  Theophilus.""  With  express  reference  to  this, 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  begin  thus :  "  The  former 
treatise  have  I  made,  O  Theophilus,  of  all  that  Jesus 
began  both  to  do  and  teach,  until  the  day  in  which  he  was 
taken  up,""  6lc.  After  this,  by  a  visible  connexion  of 
the  history,  he  proceeds  to  relate  what  the  apostles  did, 
immediately  after  our  Saviour's  ascension  ;  so  that  no 
doubt  has  ever  been  made,  but  that  the  same  person  was 
the  writer  of  both.  That  he  was  well  qualified  to  write 
his  gospel,  has  been  already  shown  under  the  first  head; 
and  the  evidences  there  laid  down,  conclude  yet  more 
strongly  for  the  authority  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ; 

valuable  Essays,  referred  to  in  Standard  Works,  Vol.  II.  are  now 
accessible  to  the  American  public  ;  having  been  republished  at  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Press.] 

"  Luke  i.  4.  •  Acts  i,  I, 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  143 

of  many  of  which  acts,  we  are  sure,  he  himself  was  an 
eye  and  ear  witness. p  Citations  out  of  this  book  are 
found  in  Clement,  the  companion  of  St.  Paul,^  and  in 
PoLYCARP,  the  disciple  of  St.  John.""  Irenveus,  in  the 
second  century,  writing  against  the  heretical  doctrine  of 
two  principles  (one  good,  the  other  evil)  argues  through- 
out one  whole  chapter^  from  passages  taken  at  large 
out  of  the  book  of  Acts,  to  show  the  contrariety  of  that 
heresy  to  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles.  Eusebius  gives 
an  account  of  the  same  book  as  follows  :  "  Luke,  a 
native  of  Antioch,  and  a  physician  by  profession,  who 
had  lived  long  and  intimately  with  Paul,  and  was  much 
conversant  with  the  other  apostles,  left  two  books, 
written  by  divine  inspiration ;  one  of  them,  his  gospel 
— the  other  entitled.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles;  which 
he  did  not  write  from  the  relations  of  others,  but  as 
facts  that  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes."'  And  elsewhere, 
among  the  books  which  were  universally  received,  he 
reckons  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  next  to  the  four 
evangelists." 

Having  established  the  credit  and  authority  of  those 
writings  which  testify  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  the  mission  thereof  according  to  that  promise  ;  I 
will  now  proceed  to  show  from  the  evangelists,  upon 
what  occasions  and  for  what  ends  the  promise  was 
made.  Our  Saviour  tells  his  disciples,  a  little  before 
his  death,  "I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you, 
but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now ;"  and  then  he  imme- 
diately adds,  "Howbeit,  when  he  the  Spirit  of  truth  is 
come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth  :''^'''  agreeably  to 
what  he  had  told  them  a  little  before  ;  "  These  things 
have  I  spoken  unto  you,  being  yet  present  with  you : 
but  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom 
the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all 
things,    and  bring  all  things  to   your  remembrance^ 

p  Acts  xvi,  &c. 

q  Clem.  Ep.  ad  Corinth  S.  xviii. 

r  PoLYCARP  ad  Philip.  Sec.  I. 

s  Iren.  Lib.  III.  c.  xii. 

t  EusEB.  Hist.  Ecvles.  Lib.  IIL  c.  iv. 

«»  EusEB.  Hist.  Eccles.  Lib.  III.  c  .xxv. 

'^  John  xvi.  12,  13. 


144  BISHOP  Gibson's 

whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you."*  Again,  "I  will 
pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Com- 
forter, that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever,  even  the 
Spirit  of  truth -J  and,  "when  the  Comforter  is  come, 
whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even  the 
Spirit  of  truths  which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  he 
shall  testify  of  me."^  When  he  tells  them,  they  must 
be  brought  into  the  synagogues,  and  unto  magistrates 
and  powers,  he  bids  them  "take  no  thought  how  or 
what  thing  they  shall  answer,  or  what  they  shall 
say  ;"  and  then  adds,  "  for  the  Holy  Ghost  shall 
teach  you  in  the  same  hour  what  ye  ought  to  say  r"^ 
and,  "  I  Avill  give  you  a  mouth  and  wisdom,  which  all 
your  adversaries  shall  not  be  able  to  gainsay  nor  resist."*^ 
When  he  sees  them  in  trouble,  and  finds  that  sorrow 
hath  filled  their  hearts  at  the  thoughts  of  his  leaving 
them,  he  comforts  them  thus  :  "  I  tell  you  the  truth,  it 
is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away ;  for  if  I  go  not 
away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you ;  but  if  I 
depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you."'=  When  he  had  given 
them  their  commission  to  preach  the  Gospel  unto  all 
nations,  he  immediately  adds,  "  And  behold,  I  send 
the  promise  of  my  Father  upon  you  ;  but  tarry  ye  in 
the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued  with  power 
from  on  high  :"'^  and,  "Ye  shall  receive  power,  after 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you  ;  and  ye  shall 
be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of 
the  earth."^  This  promise  was  fulfilled  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  when  "They  were  all  with  one  accord  in 
one  place,  and  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from 
heaven,  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  filled  all  the 
house  where  they  were  sitting:  and  there  appeared  unto 
them  cloven  tongues,  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon 
each  of  them  :  and  they  were  all  filled  Avith  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance. "'^  And  there  being  at  that 
time  "devout  men  out  of  every  nation"  who  were  come 

'  John  xiv.  26,  27.  y  John  xiv.  16, 17. 

»  John  XV.  26.  a  Luke  xii.  11,  12. 

*>  Luke  xxi.  15.  "  John  xvi.  6,  7. 

d  Luke  xxiv.  49.   Acts  i.  4.  •  Acts  i,  8. 
'  Acts  ii.  1,  2,  3,  4. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  145 

to  Jerusalem  to  worship,  "  every  man  heard  them  speak 
in  his  own  language,"  wherein  he  was  born.  And  while 
the  people  stand  amazed  at  this,  St.  Peter  tells  them., 
that  '  Jesus,  whom  they  had  crucified,  being  raised  from 
the  dead,  and  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and 
having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  oi  the  Holy 
Ghost,  had  shed  forth  that  which  they  now  saw  and 
heard. '^ 

It  appears  by  these  accounts,  that  the  full  and  final 
opening  of  the  Gospel  dispensation,  was  to  be  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  directing  the  apostles,  and 
strengthening  them  in  their  ministry,  and  enabling 
them  by  his  gifts,  to  convey  the  knowledge  of  it  to  all 
nations,  and  to  confirm  it  with  undoubted  testimoniei? 
of  a  divine  commission  and  authority.  Whatever  they 
had  heard  from  Christ,  or  seen  him  do,  the  Holy 
Ghost  brought  fresh  again  "  to  their  remembrance  ;" 
the  truths  which  they  could  not  bear  in  their  more  im- 
perfect state,  the  Holy  Ghost  instructed  them  in,  and 
made  them  fully  apprehend ;  and  by  "  leading  them 
into  all  truth,"  he  eflfectually  secured  them  against  all 
error.  They  were  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all  nations, 
and  He  taught  them  the  languages  of  all.  In  the  course 
of  their  ministry,  they  were  to  meet  with  great  trouble, 
difficulty,  and  persecution  ;  and  He  inspired  and  sup- 
ported them  with  suitable  supplies  of  wisdom,  courage, 
and  comfort.  Thus  encouraged,  strengthened,  and  as- 
sisted, by  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  apostles  "  went  forth 
and  preached  every  where  ;  the  Lord  working  with 
them,  and  confirming  the  word  with  signs  following  ;"*« 
or,  as  it  is  elsewhere  expressed,  "  God  bearing  them 
witness,  both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  with  divers 
miracles,  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost."'  This  is 
affirmed  on  many  occasions;  first,  of  aZZ  the  apostles  in 
general,  while  they  continued  together  at  Jerusalem, 
that  "  many  wonders  and  signs  were  done  by  them  :"' 
that  "  with  great  power  they  gave  witness  to  the  resur- 
rection of  the  Lord  Jesus,""^ — that  "  by  the  hands  of 
the  apostles  were  many  signs  and  wonders  wrought 
among  the  people,"' — that  "  there  came  a  multitude  out 


e  Acts  ii.  32,  33.        h  Mark  xvi.  20.       ;  Heb.  ii.  4.  J  Acts  ii.  4S. 

hActsiv.  33.  1  Acts  V.  12. 

Vol.  v.— 13 


146*  BISHOP  elBSON's 

of  the  cities  round  about  Jerusalem,  bringing  sick  folks^ 
and  them  which  were  vexed  with  unclean  spirits ;  and 
they  were  healed  every  one  :"•"  and  then,  as  wrought 
hy  particular  apostles  ;" — by  Peter,  in  the  extraordinary 
act  of  power  exercised  upon  Ananias  and  Sapphira  for 
lying  to  the  Holy  Ghost  ;° — by  Peter  and  John,?  who 
upon  the  occasion  of  curing  a  man  that  was  lame  from 
his  mother's  womb,  declared  by  what  power  they  and 
the  other  apostles  effected  their  miraculous  cures  ;  "  In 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth  rise  up  and 
walk  ;"'J  and  "  Be  it  known  unto  you,  and  to  all  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel,  that  by  the  name  0/ Jesus  Christ  of  Naz- 
areth, whom  ye  crucilied,  whom  God  raised  from  the 
dead,  by  him  doth  this  man  stand  here  before  you 
whole  c""^ — and  St.  Peter,  (upon  his  curing  ^neas  of  the 
palsy,)  "  -^neas,  Jesus  Christ  maketh  thee  Avhole."^ 

Nor  had  the  apostles  only  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  of  tongues  and  miracles,  bestowed  upon 
them,  but  these  powers  were  also  by  their  ministry 
conferred  upon  others.  Our  Saviour  intimated,  that, 
"believers"  should  receive  gifts  of  an  extraordinary 
nature ;  for  St.  John,  repeating  what  he  had  said  con- 
cerning "  rivers  of  water  that  should  flovv^  out"  of  him,' 
adds,  "  this  spake  he  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  be- 
lieve on  him  should  receive;  for  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
not  yet  given,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified  :"« 
and  so  our  Saviour  himself,  "  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  he  that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall 
he  do  also,  and  greater  works  than  these  ;  because  I  go 
unto  my  Father.""  And  it  is  certain  in  fact,  that  by 
prayer,  and  laying  on  of  hands,  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  were  bestowed  by  the  apostles  upon  many  of 
the  believers.  After  Peter  and  John  had  related  to  the 
brethren  at  Jerusalem  the  threatenings  of  the  high 
priests  and  council  of  the  Jews,  it  follows,  "  And  now. 
Lord,  behold  their  threatenings,  and  grant  imto  thy  ser- 
vants, that  with  all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy  word, 
by  stretching  forth  thy  hand  to  heal,  and  that  signs  and 
wonders  may  be  done  by  the  name  of  thy  holy  child 


™  Acts  V.  16.  »  Acts  viii.  6.  7.  13.— ix.  32.  35.  39.  40.        •  Acts 

V.  3. 10.     pActs  iii.  •»  Acts  iii.  6.       '  Acts  iv.  10.         •  Acts  ix.  31. 

•John  vii.  38.        "  John  vii.  39.         ?  John  xiv.  12. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  147 

Jesus.  And  when  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was 
sh^dken  where  they  were  assembled,  and  they  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."*  Again,  "When  the 
apostles  which  were  at  Jerusalem,  heard  that  Samaria 
had  received  the  word  of  God  (by  the  preaching  of  Philip 
the  evangelist)  they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John, 
who  when  they  were  come  down,  prayed  for  them  that 
they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  then  laid  they 
their  hands  on  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy 
Ghost. "^  While  Peter  was  speaking  to  Cornelius  and 
his  company,  "the  Holy  Ghost /eZZ  on  all  them  which 
heard  the  word,  and  they  heard  them  speak  with  tongues 
and  magnify  GoD."y  To  these  we  may  add  the  instances 
of  Stephen  and  Philip,  two  of  the  seven  deacons  ;  of  the 
first  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  "  he  did  great  wonders  and 
miracles  among  the  people  ;"*  and  of  the  second,  that 
"Simon  Magus  himself  wondered  when  he  heard  unclean 
spirits  crying  with  loud  voices,  and  saw  those  who  were 
possessed  with  them  cured,  and  many  taken  with  palsies, 
and  that  were  lame,  healed. "«• 

There  is  one  thing  further  observable,  concerning 
the  niirafJps  wrought  by  tbfi  apostles  and  others,  in  tes- 
timony of  their  divine  mission ;  and  that  is,  the  numer- 
ous conversions  ^o  the  Christian  faith  which  were 
made  by  them.  Upon  hearing  the  apostles  speak  all 
sorts  of  tongues  on  the  day  of  P^^ntecost,  "  there  were 
added  to  them  above  three  thousand  souls.'"'  Upon 
the  cure  of  the  lame  man  by  Peter  and  John,  and  the 
occasion  they  took  from  thence  to  recommend  and  en- 
force the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  "many  of  them  which 
heard  the  word  believed,  and  the  number  of  the  men 
was  about  five  thousand. "<=  Upon  the  many  signs  and 
wonders  which  were  wrought  by  the  apostles  among 
the  people,  "believers  were  the  more  added  to  the  Lord, 
multitudes  both  of  men  and  women."^'  Upon  Philip's 
preaching  the  Gospel  at  Samaria,  "  the  people  with 
one  accord  gave  heed  unto  those  things  which  he 
spake  ;  hearing  and  seeing  the  miracles  which  he  did  :"• 
and  even  Simon,  he  who  had  bewitched  them  with  his 


"^  Acts  iv.  29,  30,  31.  ^        ^  Acts  viii.  14, 15. 17.      ^  Acts  x.  44.  46. 
»  Acts  vi.  8.  »  Acts  viii.  13.  7.  b  Acts  ii.  41.  "  Acts  iv.  4. 

■4  Acts  Y.  13.  14.         •  Acts  viii.  6. 


148  BISHOP  Gibson's 

sorceries,  and  to  whom  they  had  all  given  heed  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest  as  the  great  power  of  God, 
was  baptized,  and  "  continued  with  Philip,  and  won- 
dered, beholding  the  miracles  and  signs  which  were 
done."f 

Thus  far  of  the  apostles  and  disciples  of  our  Lord  ; 
©f  the  commission  they  had  from  him  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  and  their  qualifications  for  the  effectual  dis- 
charge of  that  commission,  by  the  instructions  they  re- 
ceived from  his  own  mouth,  by  the  further  lights  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  gave  them,  and  by  the  gift  of  tongues, 
and  the  power  of  miracles,  to  enable  them  to  propa- 
gate and  establish  the  truths  they  preached. 

But  as  St.  Paul  also  was  a  glorious  instrument  in 
carrying  on  that  great  work,  and  both  his  commission 
and  instructions  were  conveyed  in  a  method  different 
from  the  rest,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  particular 
account  of  both,  in  order  to  lay  a  sure  foundation  for 
the  authority  of  the  several  epistles  written  by  him. — 
The  account  of  his  miraculous  conversion  is  delivered 
by  St.  L«iike  in  tlie  Aria  of  tho  Apostles  :^  and  bv  him- 
self, in  the  same  book,  in  his  two  defences  before  Ly- 
sias  and  Festus,  first  at  Jerusalem,''  and  then  at  Cae- 
sarea.i  And  his  immediate  mission  from  Christ  is  thus 
expressed,  "  I  have  appeared  unto  thee  for  this  purpose, 
to  make  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness  both  of  these 
things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and  of  those  things  in  the 
which  /  will  appear  unto  thee  ;  delivering  thee  from 
the  people,  and  from  the  Gentiles,  unto  whom  now  I 
send  thee,  to  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
GoD."J  And  so  Ananias,  to  whom  he  was  directed  by 
the  heavenly  vision,  relates  what  Christ  had  revealed 
to  him  concerning  Paul ;  "  he  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto 
me,  to  bear  my  name  before  the  Gentiles,  and  Kings, 
and  the  children  of  Israel :"''  and,  "  the  Lord,  even  Je- 
sus that  appeared  unto  thee  in  the  way  as  thou  camest, 
hath  sent  me,  that  thou  mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and 

'  Acts  viii.  9,  10. 13.  «  Acts  ix.  3.  h  Acts  xxii.  3.  i  Acts  xxvi.  12. 
i  Acts  xxvi.  16,  17,  18.       ^  Acts  xxii.  21.         i  Acts  ix  15. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  149 

be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."'  And  again,  "  the 
God  of  our  Fathers  hath  chosen  thee,  that  thou  should- 
est  know  his  will,  and  see  that  Just  One,  and  shouldest 
hear  the  voice  of  his  mouth  :  for  thou  shall  he  his  wit- 
ness unto  all  men,  of  what  thou  hast  seen  and  heard.""* 
And  whereas  the  other  apostles  style  themselves,  in 
the  beginning  of  their  epistles,  the  servants  and  the  apos- 
tles of  Christ,  St.  Paul's  style  concerning  himself  is, 
"  called  to  be  an  apostle,"''  "  separated  unto  the  Gospel 
of  God, "°  "an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will  of 
God  ;"p  and,  "an  apostle  7iot  of  man,  neither  by  man, 
but  by  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the  Father."^  And  as  to 
his  doctrine,  he  tells  the  Corinthians,  on  occasion  of 
his  speaking  of  the  institution  of  the  last  supper,  "  I 
have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which  I  also  delivered 
unto  you  ;"■■  and  speaking  of  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  Christ,  "  I  delivered  unto  you  that  which  I  also  re- 
ceived ;"'°  and  of  his  doctrine  in  general,  "the  Gospel 
which  was  preached  of  me,  was  not  of  man  ;  for  I 
neither  received  it  of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it  but  by 
the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ."' 

To  this  account  of  his  mission  and  doctrine,  we  must, 
add,  that  both  were  justified  and  confirmed  by  many 
and  great  miracles.  It  is  said  of  Paul  and  Barnabas 
when  at  Iconium,  "  long  time  therefore  abode  they,, 
speaking  boldly  in  the  Lord,  which  gave  testimony  to 
the  word  of  his  grace,  and  granted  signs  and  wonders 
to  be  done  by  their  hands;""  and  at  Ephesus,  "God 
wrought  special  miracles  by  the  hands  of  Paul ;  so  that 
from  his  body  were  brought  unto  the  sick,  handker- 
chiefs or  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed  from  them 
and  the  evil  spirits  went  out  of  them."^  In  Cyprus, 
an  act  of  extraordinary  power  was  exercised  on  Ely- 
mas  the  sorcerer,  whom  Paul,  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  struck  with  blindness  for  endeavoring  to  turn 
away  the  deputy  from  the  faith. ^  At  Lystra,  he  com- 
manded the  lame  man  to  '  stand  upright  on  his  feet,  and 
he  leaped  and  walked.'*'^  At  Philippi,  where  was  "  a 
damsel  possessed  with   a   spirit  of  divination,"    Paul 

1  Acts  ix.  17-  ™  Acts  xxii.  14,  15.  °  Rom  i.  1.  1  Cor.  i.  1. 
•Rom.i.  1.  P2Cor.  i.  1.  Eph.  i.  1.  Colos.  i.  1.2Tim.i.  1.  iGal.i.  1. 
•  1  Cor.  xi.  23.  ■  1  Cor.  xv.  3.  »  Gal.  i.  11,  12.  »  Acts  xiv,  3, 
T  Acts  xix.  11,  12.        w  Acts  xiii.  9.  11.         *  Acts  xiv.  8-10, 

13* 


150  BISHOP  Gibson's 

'^  said  to  the  spirit,  I  command  thee  in  the  name  of  Je' 
sus  Christ  to  come  out  of  her,  and  he  came  out  the 
same  hour."y  In  Mehta,  the  father  of  the  chief  man 
of  the  island  "  lay  sick  of  a  fever  and  a  bloody  flux  ;  to 
whom  Paul  entered  in,  and  prayed,  and  laid  his  hands 
on  him,  and  healed  him  :"  and,  "  when  this  was  done, 
others  also  who  had  diseases  in  the  island,  came  and 
were  healed.'"''  And  for  the  success  of  his  ministry, 
thus  supported  and  enforced  by  the  testimony  of  mira- 
cles, we  may  appeal,  not  only  to  the  particular  conver- 
sions mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  as  the  effects 
of  them,^  but  to  the  number  of  churches  which  were 
founded  by  him  ;  many  of  them  in  some  of  the  most 
populous  cities  and  countries. 

One  thing  more  I  must  observe;  that  as  the  rest  of 
the  apostles  had  the  power  of  conferring  the  gifts  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  upon  others,  so  Paul  had  the  same 
power:  for  it  is  said  of  the  converts  to  Christianity  whom 
he  found  at  Ephesus,  that  "when  he  had  laid  his  hands 
upon  them,  the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  them,  and  they 
spake  with  tongues,  and  prophesied."^ 

IV.  What  the  things  are  relating  to  the  Gospel  dis- 
pensation^ which  the  apostles  were  to  open  and  explain, 
pursuant  to  the  commission  and  instruction  received 
from  Christ,  and  under  the  guidance  and  assistance 
of  the  Holy  Ghost;  musty  in  conjunction  with  the  Gos- 
pels, be  learned  from  their  preaching  and  writings,  as 
delivered  to  us  in  their  acts  and  epistles. 

Some  of  the  doctrines  which  they  were  charged  by 
Christ  to  deliver  to  the  world,  are  recorded  in  the  four 
gospels,  as  being  part  of  the  instructions  they  received 
from  himself;  but  as  it  is  very  certain  that  all  the  in- 
structions which  he  delivered  to  his  disciples  are  not 
recorded  in  the  gospels,  so  is  it  no  less  certain,  that 
many  of  the  things  which  he  did  deliver  to  them  during 
the  course  of  his  ministry,  were  delivered  in  an  obscure 
manner,  and  not  understood  by  them  at  the  time;  par- 
ticularly, those  relating  to  the  nature  of  his  kingdom, 
his  death,  and  his  resurrection.     His  ordinary  way  of 


'  Acts  xvi.  18.  *  Acts  xxviii.  8,  9.  '  Acts  xiil  12.  xiv.  1,4. 

xvi.  33.        b  Acts  xix.  6. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  151 

teaching  the  people,  was  by  parables: — "All  these 
things  spake  Jesus  to  the  multitude  in  parables,  and 
without  a  parable  spake  he  not  unto  them  ;"<' — "  with 
many  such  parables  spake  he  the  word  unto  them,  as 
they  were  able  to  hear  it ;  but  without  a  parable  spake 
he  not  unto  them.'"*  'Tis  added,  indeed,  that  "  when 
they  were  alone,  he  expounded  all  things  to  his  dis- 
ciples ;"'  but  they  so  little  understood  them,  that,  as  I 
observed  before,^  he  often  upbraids  them  with  their 
slowness  of  apprehension  and  want  of  faith : — and,  of 
those  expositions,  but  few  are  recorded.  A  little  before 
his  death,  he  tells  them,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to 
say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now  ;''^  and 
then  he  immediately  adds,  "  Howbeit  when  the  Spirit 
of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth  ;" 
where  he  evidently  leaves  the  "  many  things"  he  had 
to  say,  which  they  ♦  could  not  then  bear,'  to  be  revealed 
to  them  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  was  also  to  bring  to 
their  remembrance  all  that  he  himself  had  delivered  to 
them.  After  his  resurrection,  he  "  was  seen  of"  the 
apostles  "  forty  days,"  "  speaking  of  the  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  kingdom  of  God  ;'"'  but  what  the  things  were 
that  he  delivered  to  them  in  those  forty  days,  is  no- 
where recorded.  Nor  indeed  could  the  great  work  of 
the  redemption  of  mankind,  which  mainly  depended 
upon  his  dying  and  rising  again,  be  set  forth  and  ex- 
plained, till  after  his  resurrection  ;  when,  upon  occasion 
of  their  doubts  concerning  the  reality  of  it,  he  showed 
them  out  of  Moses,  and  the  Prophets,  and  the  Psalms, 
that  he  was  to  sufter  and  rise  again,  and  "  opened  their 
understandings  that  they  might  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures."i  I  will  only  add  as  to  St.  Paul,  that  the  same 
doctrines  which  were  conveyed  to  the  other  apostles, 
first  by  the  teaching  of  Christ,  and  then  by  the  light 
and  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  fully  made  known 
to  him  by  immediate  revelation.'' 

The  apostles  being  thus  instructed  in  the  whole  will 
of  Christ,  were  properly  his  messengers,  to  convey 
and  deliver  it  to  the  world  : — "  As  my  Father  hath  sent 


*  Matt.  xiii.  34.  a  Mark  iv.  33,  34.  «  Mark  iv.  34.  (  Page  140. 
«  John  XV.  12,  13.  b  Acts  i.  3.  i  Luke  xxiv.  27.  44,  45.  k  See 
before,  p.  148, 


152  fiisHOP  Gibson's 

me,  so  send  I  you,"^ — "Go  ye  unto  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,""' — "  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you."° — And  from  whom  are  we  to  learn  the 
will  of  Christ,  but  from  his  own  messengers,  whom  he 
fully  instructed  in  it,  and  intrusted  with  the  delivering 
it  to  the  world?  They  were  the  "ambassadors  of 
Christ  to  pray  us  in  his  stead  to  be  reconciled  to 
God  ;"°  and  from  whom  therefore,  but  from  them,  are 
we  to  learn  the  terms  of  that  reconciliation,  and  the 
grounds  of  that  great  favor  and  mercy  extended  by 
God  to  mankind  ?  They  were  in  a  particular  manner 
appointed  to  be  '  witnesses  of  his  resurrection  ;'p  and 
from  what  other  hands,  but  these  that  were  intrusted 
with  publishing  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  can  we 
learn  the  importance  of  it,  and  the  benefits  accruing 
to  mankind  by  it  ?  Those  ambassadors  and  messengers 
were  endowed  with  the  power  of  working  miracles  ; 
and  for  what  end  should  this  be,  but  to  prove  the 
divinity  of  their  commission,  and  to  recommend  their 
doctrines  to  our  attention  and  belief?  In  general,  the 
apostles  were  appointed  by  Christ  to  be  "  the  light  of 
the  world  ;"'3  and  how  was  that  light  to  be  conveyed  to 
future  generations,  otherwise  than  by  their  preachings 
and  wrifings?'" 

Supposing  then  that  the  writings  of  the  apostles,  and 
the  accounts  we  have  of  their  preaching  are  true  and 
genuine,  i.  e.  that  they  were  really  written  by  the  per- 
sons whose  names  they  bear ;  no  doubt  can  remain, 
but  that  the  things  relating  to  the  Gospel  dispensation 
(which  were  to  be  opened  and  explained  by  them,  pur- 
suant to  the  instructions  received  from  Christ,  and 
under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost)  are  to  be  learnt 
from  their  acts  and  epistles,  in  conjunction  with  the 
four  gospels.  The  authority  of  the  gospels  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  I  have  already  established,  and 
shall  now  proceed  to  show,  that  the  epistles  also  were 
the  genuine  writings  of  the  apostles. 


1  John  XX.  21.  ""  Mark  xvi.  15.  "  Matt,  xxviii.  20.  °  2  Cor.  v.  20. 
P  Acts  i.  22.  V.  32.  X.  41.  'i  Matt.  v.  14.  '  [Soe  the  pertinent  and 
lucid  observations  of  West  upon  this  subject ;  Standard  Works,  Vol.1, 
p.  206.  ss.] 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  153 

Eusebius  reckoning  up  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment which  were  universally  received,  after  mention 
made  of  the  four  gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
adds,  "  Next  to  these  we  are  to  reckon  the  epistles  of 
Paul  ;"*  every  one  of  which  (except  that  to  the  He- 
brews) expressly  bea*s  his  name  ;  and  they  are  fre- 
quently cited  and  referred  to  by  the  most  early  writers 
of  the  Church,  as  has  been  abundantly  shown  by  many- 
learned  men,  and  may  easily  be  seen  by  looking  into 
the  writings  of  Clement,  Ignatius,  and  Polycarp,  in 
the  first  century,  and  after  them  into  those  of  Iren^us 
and  Tertullian  in  the  second.  The  same  thing  is 
there  affirmed  by  Eusebius  of  the  first  epistle  of  St. 
Peter,  and  the  first  of  St.  John ;  namely,  that  they  had 
been  received  universally.  And  as  to  the  doubts  that 
have  been  raised  concerning  other  epistles  ;  it  must  be 
premised  in  general,  that  no  advantage  can  accrue  from 
thence  to  the  adversaries  of  the  Christian  religion,  till 
they  point  out  the  particular  doctrines  relating  to  faith 
or  manners,  which  are  contained  in  those,  that  are  not 
also  contained  either  expressly,  or  by  fair  and  clear 
deduction,  in  the  other  books  of  the  New  Testament 
which  the  Church  of  Christ  has  universally  received. 
Much  less  can  they  reap  any  advantage  from  those 
doubts,  if  it  shall  be  made  appear  that  in  every  instance 
they  are  ill  founded. 

As  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews ;  the  main  doubt 
concerning  it  has  arisen  from  its  not  being  expressly 
under  the  name  of  St.  Paul,  as  all  his  other  epistles 
are  :  but  this  receives  a  very  plain  and  natural  solution. 
St.  Paul  was  properly  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles^  as 
appears  from  many  passages  both  in  the  book  of  Acts, 
and  in  his  own  epistles.  The  direction  he  received 
from  Christ  was  this,  "  make  haste,  and  get  thee 
quickly  out  of  Jerusalem,  for  they  will  not  receive  thy 
testimony  concerning  me  ;"  and,  "  depart,  for  I  will 
send  thee  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles:'^  In  his  epistles 
he  speaks  of  himself  as  "  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,'"^ 
as  "  the  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,'"''  and 
as  "  the  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  Gentiles ;"" 


»  EusEB.  Ecc.  Hist.  Lib.  III.  c.  xxv.      «  Acts  xxii.  18.  21.  _►»  Rom» 
xi.  13.        '  Rom.  XV.  16.         *  Ephes.  iii.  1. 


154  BISHOP  Gibson's 

as  he,  "  to  whom  it  pleased  God  to  reveal  his  Son,  that 
he  might  preach  him  among  the  Heathen  ;"^  he,  "  to 
whom  this  grace  (or  commission)  was  given,  that  he 
should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  ;^^^  he,  who  was 
"  appointed  a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles  ;^^*  he,  whom  "  the 
Lord  strengthened,  that  by  him  the  preaching  might  be 
fully  known,  and  that  all  the  Gentiles  might  hear.''^'- 
All  which  are  briefly  comprehened  in  the  declaration  he 
made  to  the  Galatians  ;  "  The  Gospel  of  the  uncircum- 
cision  was  committed  unto  me^  as  the  Gospel  of  the 
circumcision  was  mito  Peter;  for  he  that  wrought 
effectually  in  Peter  to  the  apostleship  of  the  circum- 
cision, the  same  was  mighty  in  me  towards  the  Gen- 
tiles ^^  .'Tis  true,  the  apostolical  commission  was 
general^  "  to  preach  the  Gospel," — and  there  are  many 
instances  of  St.  Paul's  endeavoring  to  convert  those  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  and  of  his  going  into  their  syna- 
gogues, and  reasoning  with  them.  This  he  did  at 
Salamis,"^  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,^  at  Iconium,^  at  Thes- 
salonica,^  at  Berea,^  at  Corinth,"^  and  at  Ephesus.*  At 
Thessalonica,  particularly,  it  is  said  that  "  Paul,  as  his 
manner  was,  went  in  unto  them,  and  thrp.p  sabbath 
days  reasoned  with  them  out  of  the  Scriptures."^  At 
Ephesus,  "  he  went  into  the  synagogue,  and  spake 
boldly /or  the  space  of  three  months,  disputing  and  per- 
suading the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  :"^ 
And  he  tells  the  Elders  of  that  Church,  that  he  had 
testified  "both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the  Greeks,  re- 
pentance towards  God,  and  faith  towards  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. "^^  And  at  Antioch,  where  the  Jews 
contradicted  and  blasphemed,  he  tells  them,  "  It  was 
necessary  that  the  word  of  God  should  first  have  been 
spoken  to  them  ;  but  seeing  they  put  it  from  them,  and 
judged  themselves  unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  he 
turned  to  the  Gentiles.^''''  And  to  how  great  a  height 
the  prejudices  of  the  Jews  against  him  had  risen  by 
degrees,  we  may  gather  from  the  furious  assault  that 
was  made  upon  him  at  Jerusalem,  and  their  crying  out, 
"  Men  of  Israel,  help  ;    this  is  the  man  that  teacheth 

*  Gal.  i.  11.  y  Ephes.  iii.  8.  •  2  Tim.  i.  11.  •  2  Tim.  iv.  17. 

*>  Gal.  ii.  7,  8.  •  Acts  xiii.  5.  <i  Acts  xiii.  14.  •  Acts  xiv.  1. 

t  Acts  x,!^.  1.  B  Acts  xvii.  10.  h  Acts  xviii.  4.  i  Acts  xviii.  19. 

k  Acts  xvii.  i.  I  Acts  xix.  8.  »  Acts  xx.  21.  »  Acts  xiii.  46. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  155 

all  men  every  where  against  the  people,  and  the  law, 
and  this  place;""  while  his  affection  to  the  whole  Jewish 
nation,  and  his  concern  for  them  was  such,  as  to  make 
him  even  *'  wish  that  himself  were  accursed  from 
Christ,  for  his  brethren.,  his  kinsmen  according  to  the 
flesh."p 

It  appears,  from  the  foregoing  accounts,  how  natural 
it  was  for  St.  Paul  to  write  as  well  as  preach  to  the  Jews ; 
and  how  natural  also,  in  writing  to  them,  to  avoid  the 
authoritative  style  that  he  used  when  he  wrote  to  those 
Churches  which  had-  been  converted  by  him,  or  which 
were  more  peculiarly  within  his  commission,  and  to 
choose  to  write  to  them  only  as  his  brethren  and  kins- 
men, that  is,  in  his  own  language,  as  he  and  they 
were  equally  Hebrews,^  and  Israelites,  and  the  seed  of 
Abraham.'' 

But,  notwithstanding  the  omission  of  his  name,  and  of 
his  apostolical  character,  there  are  many  cogent  argu- 
ments to  satisfy  us  that  St.  Paul  was  the  author  of  this 
epistle,  against  the  contrary  suspicions  of  some  learned 
men.  The  general  scope  of  it  is  to  prove  that  the  rites 
prescribed  by  the  ceremonial  law  were  only  types  and 
figures  of  Christ  ;  and  that  he  being  now  come,  they 
were  of  no  further  use,  but  were  to  cease  and  give  way 
to  a  dispensation  of  a  much  higher  and  more  excellent 
nature.  And  what  was  the  accusation  brought  against 
St.  Paul  by  the  Jews?  Why,  that  he  taught  "all  the 
Jews  which  were  among  the  Gentiles,  to  forsake  Moses, 
saying  that  they  ought  not  to  circumcise  their  children, 
neither  to  walk  after  the  customs ;"  and  that  he  taught 
"  all  men  every  where  against  the  people,  and  the  law, 
and  the  temple."^  The  writer  of  this  epistle  uses  the 
style  of  "  our  brother  Timothy ;""  and  this  is  the  style 
which  we  find  frequently  used  by  St.  Paul  in  his  other 
epistles.  "Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  Timo- 
thy our  brother,"  is  the  introduction  to  three  of  them  :^ 
and  writing  to  the  Thessalonians,  he  says,  I  have  "  sent 
Timotheus  our  brother  ;""  nor  do  we  find  this  style  used 
by  any  other  of  the  apostles.  The  same  is  observable 
of  another  expression  towards  the  conclusion  of  this 


•  Acts  xxi.  28.     P  Rom.  ix.  3.     i2  Cor.  xi.  12.     •■  Acts  xxi.  21.  28. 
Heb.  xiii.  23.      '  2  Cor.  i.  1.  Coloss.  1 1.  Philem.  1.       » 1  Thess.  i.  2. 


156  BISHOP  Gibson's 

epistle,  "  Pray  for  us ;"'  being  what  we  also  find  in  his 
epistles  both  to  the  Colossians  and  Thessalonians  ;"* 
with  others  of  the  same  import  in  those  to  the  Romans 
and  Ephesians,  where  he  beseeches  them  to  "  strive  to- 
gether in  their  prayers  to  God  for  him,"^  and  to  "pray 
always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication — for  him  ;"  nor 
is  this  used  by  any  other  apostle.  This  epistle,  towards 
the  conclusion,  has  a  solemn  prayer  to  the  "  God  of 
peace,"  for  a  blessing  upon  the  Christians  to  whom  he 
is  writing  :y  and  we  find  the  like  towards  the  conclusion 
of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  "  The  God  of  peace  be 
with  you  all ;"'  and  to  the  Corinthians,  "  The  God  of 
love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you ;"''  to  the  Philippians, 
"The  God  of  peace  shall  be  with  you  ;"^  and  to  the 
Thessalonians,  "  The  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you 
wholly  ;"<=  and,  "  The  Lord  of  peace  himself  give  you 
peace  ahvays  ;"'^  and  the  like  expression  is  not  only 
thus  frequent  in  St.  Paul's  epistles,  but  is  not  to  be  met 
with  in  any  other.  The  same  is  to  be  said  of  the  term 
''Mediator;''^  for  though  the  thing  be  spoken  of  in  other 
parts  of  the  New  Testament,  the  term  is  not  found  any 
where  but  in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul.*^  In  this  epistle, 
he  speaks  of  his  imprisonment,  under  the  name  of 
*'  bonds  ;"^  and  he  mentions  the  same  at  least  ten  times 
in  his  other  epistles,**  and  all  of  them  written  from  Italy, 
as  this  to  the  Hebrews  was  :  neither  do  we  find  that 
expression  used  by  any  other  apostle.  In  this  epistle, 
he  pleads  the  integrity  of  his  heart  and  conscience ; 
"  We  trust  we  have  a  good  conscience,  in  all  things 
willing  to  live  honestly ;"'  and  the  same  plea  is  often 
made  by  him  on  other  occasions.  Thus  his  declaration 
before  the  council  was,  "  Men  and  brethren,  I  have  lived 
in  all  good  conscience  before  God  until  this  day  ;"''  and 
before  Felix,  "  Herein  do  I  exercise  myself,  to  have 
always  a  conscience  void  of  offence  towards  God  and 


'  Heb.  xiii.  18.  *  Col.  iv.  3.  2Thess.  iii.  1.         ^  Rom.  x\\  30. 

Ephes.  vi.  18,  19.  ^  Heb.  xiii.  20.  *  Rom.  xv.  33.  xvi.  20. 

•  2  Cor.  xiii.  11.  »>  Phil.  iv.  9.        '  1  Thess.  v.  23.        ^  2  Thess. 

iii.  16.  •  Heb.  viii.  6.  ix.  15.  xii.  24.  f  [Gal.  iii.  19,  20.  1  Tim. 
ii.  5.]  e  Heb.  x.  34.  h  [Eph.  vi.  20 ;  Phil  i.  7.  13,  14.  16 ;  Col. 
iv.  3.  18 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  9  ;  Philem.  10. 13.— Compare  also,  in  the  speeches 
of  the  same  apostle,  Acts  xx.  23 ;  xxvi.  29.]  i  Heb.  xiii.  18.  ^  Acts 
zxiii.  1. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  157 

towards  men;'"  and  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  *'I 
say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not ;  my  conscience  also 
bearing-  me  witness ;""  to  the  Corinthians,  speaking  of 
himself,  "  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimony  of  our 
conscience ;"°  and  to  Timothy,  "  Whom  I  serve  with 
pure  conscience." °  This  epistle  concludes  with  a  salu- 
tation to  and  from  the  brethren ;  which  is  found  at  the 
end  of  almost  every  epistle  of  St.  Paul : — and  the  Chris- 
tians are  here  called  saints ;  which  is  a  style  very  fre- 
quently used  by  that  apostle,  and  almost  peculiar  to 
him. 

To  this  epistle  St.  Peter  may  well  be  understood  to 
refer  as  written  by  St.  Paul,  where  he  is  exhorting  the 
Jewish  Christians  under  persecution,  to  wait  with  pa- 
tience for  the  "day  of  God,"  and  to  take  care  to  "be 
found  of  him  without  spot  and  blameless,"  that  it  might 
be  "  salvation"  to  them  ;  and  this,  in  answer  to  the 
scoffers  of  those  days,  who  upbraided  them  with  the 
expectation  of  it,  as  vain  and  groundless,  and,  by  way 
of  derision,  asked,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  com- 
ing ?"  And  then  St.  Peter  adds,  "  Even  as  our  beloved 
brother  Paul  also,  according  to  the  wisdom  given  unto 
him,  hath  written  unto  you  ;"  which  most  probably 
relates  to  this  epistle,  as  the  only  one  that  he  wrote  to 
the  Jewish  Christians,  and  as  containing  in  it  several 
exhortations  to  the  same  purpose  with  that  which  St. 
Peter  is  there  giving.^  For,  not  to  insist  upon  his 
exhortation  to  the  Hebrews  to  be  "followers  of  them 
who  ihvough.  faith  and  patienceinherhedi  the  promises," 
enforced  by  the  example  of  Abraham,  who  "after  he 
had  patiently  endured,  obtained  tlie  promise ;"''  nor  upon 
that  other  exhortation,  "  Let  us  holdfast  the  profession 
of  our  faith  without  wavering,  for  he  is  faithful  that 
profnised;"''  not,  I  say,  to  rest  upon  these,  it  will  be 
hard  to  find  in  the  whole  New  Testament  any  passage 
to  which  St.  Peter  might  so  probably  refer,  as  this  which 
follows  :  "Cast  not  away  your  confidence,  which  hath 
great  recompense  of  reward :  for  ye  have  need  of  pa' 
tience,  that  after  ye  have  done  the  will  of  God,  ye  might 
receive  the  promise  :    for  yet  a  little  while,  and  he  that 


i  Acts  xxiv.  16.        "^  Rom.  ix.  1.        °  2  Cor.  i.  13.        »  2  Tim.  i.  3 
2  Pet.  iii.  15,  16.        i  Heb.  vi.  12.  15.        '  Heb.  x.  23. 
Vol.  v.— 14 


158  BISHOP  Gibson's 

shall  come,  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry  :  now  the  just 
shall  live  hy  faith  ;  but  if  any  man  draw  back,  my  soul 
shall  have  no  pleasure  in  him.  But  we  are  not  of  them 
who  draw  hack  unto  perdition,  but  of  them  that  believe 
to  the  saving  of  the  50wZ."^  As  to  the  passage  in  St. 
Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  which  speaks  of  the 
*'  goodness,  and  forbearance,  and  long-suffering"  of  Gon, 
as  "leading  to  repentance ;"'^  St.  Peter  cannot  be  sup* 
posed  to  refer  to  it,  for  two  plain  reasons.  In  that 
passage,  St.  Paul  addresses  himself  to  the  unbelieving 
Jews ;  whereas  St.  Peter  is  writing  to  the  believing 
Jews,  and  to  them  only.  St.  Paul's  is  a  reproof  for 
abusing  the  goodness  and  long-suffering  of  God  to  a 
security  in  sinning,  contrary  to  the  effect  it  ought  to 
have  upon  wicked  men  ;  but  St.  Peter's  is  an  exhorta- 
tion to  sincere  Christians  to  wait  with  patience,  in  an 
assurance  that  it  will  bring  salvation  in  the  end. 

Under  the  present  head  of  internal  testimony,  notice 
must  be  taken  of  a  passage  in  this  epistle,  which  may 
seem  at  first  sight  to  imply  that  St.  Paul  was  not  the 
writer  of  it.  Speaking  of  the  salvation  of  sinners  through 
the  Gospel,  he  says,  "  which  at  the  first  began  to  be 
spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them 
that  heard  him  ;""  whereas  St.  Paul  had  the  Gospel 
revealed  to  him  immediately  from  heaven.  But  to  this 
there  are  two  plain  answers.  One,  that  St.  Paul,  be- 
tween his  conversion  and  the  time  when  this  epistle 
was  written,  had  seen  and  conversed  with  several  of 
the  apostles.  "  After  three  years,"  says  he,  "  I  went 
up  to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter,  and  abode  with  him  fifteen 
days ;"''  and  he  tells  us,  that  at  the  same  time  he  saw 
James,  the  brotlier  of  our  Lord.* — "Then  fourteen 
years  after,  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem, — and  communicated 
to  them  that  Gospel  which  I  preached  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles ;'"'  and  there  he  saw  Peter,  James,  and  John,"? 
and  after  that  he  saw  Peter,  at  Antioch.^  So  that  St. 
Paul  might  truly  say,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel 
was  '  confirmed'  to  him  by  them  that  heard  Christ  ; 
and  he  had  occasion  to  say  it,  lest  it  should  be  objected 
to  him  by  the  Jewish  Christians  that  his  doctrine  was 


'  Heb.  X.  35—39.         '  Rom.  ii.  4.        "  Heb.  u.  3.         '  Gal.  i.  18. 
Gal.  i.  19.         '  Gal.  ii.  1,  2.         r  Gal.  ii.  9.         '  Gal.  ii.  11. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  159 

different  from  that  of  the  other  apostles  ;  against  whom 
it  was  a  proper  defence,  that  it  was  no  other  doctrine 
than  that  which  had  been  'confirmed'  by  their  own 
apostles,  '  who  heard  Christ,'  and  had  at  first  preached 
the  Gospel  to  them.  The  other  answer  is,  that  it  is  not 
uncommon  with  St.  Paul  to  include  himself  in  the  number 
of  those  to  whom  he  writes,  though  not  concerned 
equally  with  them,  or  not  at  all :  "  Let  us  not  commit 
fornication."  "  Let  1^5  not  tempt  Christ."''  "PFe  our- 
selves (speaking  of  the  Gentile  state)  were  sometimes 
foolish,  disobedient,  deceived,  serving  divers  lusts  and 
pleasures,  living  in  malice  and  envy,  hateful,  and  hating 
one  another.'"' 

Besides  the  internal  proofs  that  St.  Paul  was  the 
writer  of  this  epistle,  there  are  proofs  external,  and 
those  both  numerous  and  express.  Not  to  mention  in 
this  place  the  citations  of  the  most  early  fathers  out  of 
this  epistle,  as  being  only  proofs  of  the  authority,  and 
not  of  the  author,  and  made  by  writers  who  rarely  men- 
tion the  name  of  the  apostle  whose  words  they  cite  ; — 
in  the  second  century,  Clemens  Alexandrinus  men- 
tions it  under  the  name  of  St.  Paul,  where,  speaking 
of  the  Greek  philosophy  as  styled  by  that  apostle 
*  elements  or  introductions  to  the  truth,'  and  expressly 
mentioning  him  by  name,  he  adds,  "and  therefore,  writ- 
ing to  the  Hebrews,  he  saith,  ye  have  need  that  one  teach 
you  again,  which  be  the  elements  (or  first  principles) 
of  the  oracles  of  God.""-  And  elsewhere,  having  cited 
a  passage  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  Titus  concerning  the 
behavior  of  the  elder  women  in  quietness  and  sobriety, 
'that  the  word  of  God  be  not  blasphemed,'  he  immediate- 
ly adds,  "  but  rather,  says  the  same  apostle,  follow  peace 
with  all  men,"  &c.,  repeating  four  verses  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews.*^  So  also  Origen,  in  the  third  century, 
having  quoted  these  words  out  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,  'I  have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with 
meat,'  adds  this;  "The  same  person  saith.  Ye  are  be- 
come such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of  strong 
meat,"^  and  then  he  goes  on  to  repeat  two  other  entire 


•  1  Cor.  X.  8,  9.       b  Tit.  iii.  3.        =  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  Lib.  VI. 
§  8.   Col.  ii.  8.    Heb.  v.  12.  <i  Heb.  xii.  13,  14,  15.  xiii.  4.    Clem. 

Alex.  Strom.  Lib.  IV.  §  30.        *  Orig.  Cont,  Cels.  Lib.  III.  p.  143. 
1  Cor.  iii.  2. 


160  BISHOP  Gibson's 

verses  out  of  this  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews."'  And  else- 
where, having  cited  passages  out  of  the  other  epistles 
of  St.  Paul,  he  adds  parallel  passages  out  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  with  this  or  the  Hke  connexion,  '  the 
same  apostle  saith.'^  In  his  homilies  upon  this  epistle 
he  accounts  for  the  difference  between  it  and  St.  Paul's 
other  epistles  in  point  of  style,  by  supposing  that  the 
Tnatter  was  his,  but  that  it  was  composed  and  method- 
ized by  some  other  hand.  And  therefore  he  '  commends 
those  Churches  which  received  it  as  St.  PauVs,^  '  be- 
cause,' as  he  adds,  *  the  ancients  did  not  ascribe  it  to  him 
rashly.'^  And  that  which  follows,  of  some  of  the  an- 
cients ascribing  it  to  St.  Clement,  and  some  to  St.  Luke, 
evidently  refers  to  the  supposed  penman^  and  not  to 
the  author — to  the  language  only,  and  not  at  all  to  the 
matter. 

In  the  next  century,  the  Council  of  Laodicea  enume- 
rating the  known  and  received  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, place  in  their  course  "the  fourteen  epistles  of  St. 
Paul ;  to  the  Romans  one,  to  the  Corinthians  two,  &c., 
and  to  the  Hebrews  one  :"' — to  which  I  will  add  the  tes- 
timonies of  two  writers,  one  of  the  Greek  and  the 
other  of  the  Latin  Church — I  mean  Eusebius  and 
Jerome  ;  who  had  made  more  nice  and  strict  inquiries 
than  any  other  about  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  and  the  writers  of  them.  Eusebius,  speak- 
ing of  the  received  books  of  the  New  Testament,  deliver- 
ed his  own  judgment,  that  "the  fourteen  epistles  of  St. 
Paul  (which  includes  that  of  the  Hebrews)  are  known' 
and  clear."''  Afterwards,  speaking  of  Clement's  £/?iir?Ze 
to  the  Corinthians,  "in  which,"  says  he,  "are  inserted 
several  passages  out  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
sometimes  in  the  very  words,"  he  adds,  "from  whence 
it  is  most  evident,  that  this  cannot  be  a  modern  writing," 
(St.  Clement  having  been  a  disciple  and  companion  of 
St.  Paul ;)  and  then  he  goes  on,  "  wherefore  it  seems 
with  good  reason  to  be  added  to  his  other  epistles.  For 
St.  Paul  having  written  to  the  Hebrews  in  their  own 
language,  the  translation  of  it  (into  the  Greek  tongue) 

f  Heb.  V.  12,  13,  14.  e  Qrig.  PhilocaL  p.  10.  17.     Adv.  Cels. 

Lib.  VII.  p.  351,  and  in  other  places.— Heb.  x.  32.  35.  h  Euseb. 

Ecc.  Hist.  Lib.  VI.  c.  xxv.  i  Concil.  Laodicen.  Can.  60.  k  Eu- 
siB.  Ecc.  Hist.  Lib.  III.  c.  iii. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  161 

is  ascribed  by  some  to  St.  Luke,  and  by  others  to  Cle- 
ment.'" Which  testimonies  warrant  what  we  find  in 
Theodoret,  in  the  preface  to  his  commentary  upon  this 
epistle — "  Eusebius  confessed,  that  this  was  the  epistle 
of  the  most  divine  Paul,  and  affirmed,  that  all  the  an- 
cients were  of  that  opinion  ;"■«  and  Photius,  a  collector 
in  the  ninth  century,  at  the  same  time  that  he  cites  an 
obscure  writer  °  who  had  said  that  Hippolytus  and 
Iren^us  did  not  believe  this  epistle  to  be  St.  Paul's, 
immediately  adds,  "but  Clement,  and  Eusebius,  and 
the  main  body  of  the  divine  fathers,  reckon  this  among 
his  other  epistles.""  And  the  same  Photius  mentions 
that  opinion  of  Hippolytus,  as  one,  among  others,  of 
his  crude  and  indigested  assertions. p 

'Tis  true,  Eusebius  takes  notice, i  that  some  did  not 
receive  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  because  they  said  it 
was  not  received  by  the  Roman  Church  ;  which  he  par- 
ticularly  affirms  of  Caius,  and  adds,  in  a  more  qualified 
sense,  that  "  som.e  of  the  Romans  did  not  suppose  it  to  be 
his.""-  But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  Caius  advanced 
this  opinion  in  a  dispute  with  one,^  who  affirmed  that 
Christians  falling  from  the  faith,'  ought  not  to  be  admit- 
ted to  penance  ;  and  who  without  doubt"  alleged  against 
Caius  that  passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "It 
is  impossible  for  those  who  were  once  enlightened,  and 
have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made  par- 
takers of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tasted  the  good 
word  of  God,  and  the  power  of  the  world  to  come ;  if 
they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  to  repentance." 
And  as  this  became  a  common  controversy  in  the  Latin 
Church,  which  maintained  the  opinion  of  Caius  for  re- 
storing lapsed  Christians,  against  the  Montanists  first, 
and  then  against  the  Novatians ;  it  was  natural,  in  the 
heat  of  dispute,  to  endeavor  to  weaken  the  force  of  that 
text,  by  raising  a  doubt  whether  St.  Paul,  whose  name 
was  not  set  to  this  epistle  as  it  is  to  the  rest,  was  the 
author  of  it.     But,  that  the  doubts  concerning  the  au-.. 


1  EusEB.  E.  H.  Lib.  VI.  c.  xx.     Lib.  Ill,  c.  xxxviii,        »"  Theodck 
RET,  Pref.  in  Ep.  "  Gobarus.  °  Photii  Bibliotheca,  Cod. 

ccxxxii.       P  Photii  Bibliotheca,  c.  cxxi.       i  Euseb.  E.  H.  Lib.  in, 
C.  iii.  *  Euseb.  E.  H.  Lib.  VI.  c.  xx.  ■  Proclus,         »  Lapsi, 

[The  lapsed,  or  apostate.]      "  Tertull.  de  Ptidic  c.  xx. — Heb,  vi,  4, 
5,6, 

14* 


162  BISHOP  Gibson's 

thority  of  it  were  not  the  same  in  the  Latin  Church  from 
the  beginning,  may  be  fairly  presumed  from  this  epis- 
tle's being  inserted  among  the  others,  in  the  ancient 
Latin  version  of  the  New  Testament,  which  was  made 
for  the  use  of  that  Church. 

St.  Jerome,  who  occasionally  takes  notice  that, 
though  it  was  received  as  St.  Paul's  by  some  of  the 
I/atin  Church,  yet  many  doubted  of  it,  expressly  con^ 
demns  them  for  it,  and  confronts  that  doubt  with  the 
authority  of  "the  Greek  Church  and  all  the  Eastern 
Churches,  who  unanimously  received  it  ;"^  and  who 
undoubtedly  had  a  better  opportunity  than  the  Latin 
Church,  to  inquire  into  the  authority  of  it :  which  deter- 
mination, as  of  a  point  in  question  before  him,  makes  it 
plain,  that  his  mentioning  it  with  tokens  of  doubt  in 
some  other  places  where  he  only  quotes  it  occasionally, 
was  not  the  result  of  his  own  judgment,  but  a  deference 
he  paid  to  the  opinion  of  the  Latin  Church.  And  as  he 
expressly  declared  his  own  satisfaction,  upon  the  au- 
thority of  the  ancients,  "  that  it  was  rightly  ascribed  to 
St.  Paul,"  so  has  the  whole  Latin  Church  shown  them- 
selves to  be  convinced  of  their  error,  by  having  for  so 
many  ages  received  and  inserted  it  among  his  other 
epistles.'' 

That  which  gave  the  main  ground  of  dispute  concern- 
ing the  writer  of  this  epistle,  was  the  want  of  St.  Paul's 
name  at  the  beginning,  which  has  been  already  accounted 
for ;  and  this  led  the  critical  inquirers  into  words  and 
phrases,  to  insist  upon  the  argument  from  the  style 
and  manner  of  writing  in  this  epistle,  as  different  from 
that  of  St.  Paul  in  his  other  epistles.  The  manner  of 
writing,  say  they,  is  more  lofty,  and  the  style  raised  to 
a  greater  height,  than  in  his  other  epistles.  But  if  it  be, 
the  subject  also  is  more  lofty  and  exalted, — the  dignity 
of  Christ  above  the  angels; — the  glory  of  Christ  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  ; — the  heavenly  tabernacle  ; — the 
everlasting  priesthood; — Christ's  mediating  and  inter- 
ceding for  us  in  the  presence  of  God  ; — and,  in  general, 
all  those  high  and  heavenly  things  of  which  the  legal 
performances  under  the  Mosaical  law  were  only  types 


'  HiERON.  Ep.  ad  Dardan.—ad  Evagr.     "»  Mill.  Proleg.  in  N.  T. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  163 

and  figures,  together  with  the  wonders  wrought  by  the 
patriarchs,  martyrs,  and  other  famous  men,  in  virtue  of 
their  faith.  As  therefore  the  difterence  in  style  is  of 
little  force  in  any  case,  since  it  is  very  common  for  the 
same  writer  to  vary  his  style,  according  to  the  subject, 
the  occasion,  the  degrees  of  earnestness,  &c.,  so  here 
it  is  of  no  force  at  all,  when  set  up  in  opposition  to  the 
testimony  of  the  best  and  most  approved  writers  among 
the  ancients  ;=^  and  when  it  is  further  considered,  that 
the  attempts  to  ascribe  the  epistle  to  others  (Luke,  Cle- 
ment, ApoUos)  are  founded  only  upon  some  remote 
conjectures,  and  not  countenanced  by  ancient  testimo- 
nies, otherwise  than  as  they  are  considered  under  the 
character  of  writers  and  reporters  of  St.  Paul's  doc- 
trine. To  which  I  must  add,  that  those  early  differences 
in  opinion  were  not  so  much  about  the  authority  of  the 
book,  as  about  the  author ;  they  who  had  their  doubts 
whether  St.  Paul  was  the  writer,  readily  acknowledging 
that  the  epistle  came  from  a  person  divinely  inspired. 
This  was  the  case  with  all  those  of  old,  who  believed  it 
to  be  written  in  Hebrew  by  St.  Paul,  and  translated  into 
Greek  by  some  one  of  the  apostolical  persons  just  now 
mentioned  (which,  whether  true  or  not,  was  a  prevail- 
ing opinion  among  the  ancients;)  and  also  with  those 
others,  who  supposed  it  to  be  drawn  up  by  some  apos- 
tolical person,  agreeing  to  the  sense  and  meaning  of  St. 
Paul ;  and  with  Tertullian,  who  ascribed  it  to  Bar- 
nabas, an  apostle,  and  companion  of  St.  Paul.y  And 
the  same  has  been  the  case  with  more  modern  writers ; 
as  appears  by  the  declarations  of  two  divines,  (both  ojf 
them  remarkable  for  a  latitude  of  thought  in  religious 
matters)  even  while  they  are  giving  their  reasons,  why 
they  do  not  think  it  to  have  been  v/ritten  by  St.  Paul. 
"It  does  not  .seem,"  says  one,^  "  to  have  been  written 
by  St.  Paul,  but  neither  can  it  be  clearly  denied  to  be 
his  ;  for  it  is  probable  it  was  written  by  one  of  St. 
Paul's  companions,  with  his  privity,  and  agreeably  to 
his  doctrine  :"  to  which  he  adds,  "  I  acknowledge  the 
divine  authority  of  this  epistle."     And,  says  another,* 


*  See  before,  p.  159.  ^^  Tektull.  de  Pudic.  c.  xx.  Acts  xiii. 
2. 4.  *  LiMEORCH^  Pre/,  in  Comm.  in  Hebr.  '  Le  Clerc.  Uist^ 
Ecd.  Ann.  69. 


164 

"  Whoever  reads  it  with  attention,  will  see  every  where 

the  apostolical  doctrine  concerning  the  controversies 
between  the  Christians  and  Jews,  or  Judaizing  Chris- 
tians of  those  days  ;"  from  whence  he  infers,  "  That  it 
must  be  written  before  the  destruction  of  the  temple, 
because  after  that,  and  the  extinction  of  the  Levitical 
worship,  and  the  destruction  of  a  great  part  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation,  there  could  scarce  be  any  occasion  for  enter- 
ing into  those  controversies ;  nor  is  there  in  it  the  least 
footstep  of  any  opinions,  disputes,  or  matters,  later  than 
the  apostolic  age."  And  again,  "  Neither  the  matter 
nor  the  manner  of  explaining,  nor  the  language,  breathe 
any  thing  but  what  is  apostolical,  and  of  divine  inspira- 
tion ;  in  which  I  and  all  others  Avho  have  written  con- 
cerning this  epistle  do  agree,  however  we  may  differ 
about  the  author.'"' 

Besides  this  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  there  were  some 
others  that  the  whole  Christian  Church  did  not  receive 
so  soon  as  those  already  mentioned  concerning  which 
there  was  never  any  doubt.  These  are,  the  Epistle  of 
St.  James,  the  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  the  Second 
and  Third  of  St.  John,  and  that  of  St.  Jude.  Concerning 
these,  it  shall  be  particularly  shown,  that  each  of  them 
was  received  early ;  and  there  is  this  plain  reason,  why 
they  were  not  received  by  all  Christians  so  early  as  the 
rest, — that  they  were  written  either  to  particular  per- 
sons, as  the  second  and  third  of  St.  John;  or  to  the 
Jewish  converts  dispersed  in  several  countries,  as  the 
second  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  James  ;  or  to  the  Christians 
in  general,  as  the  Epistle  of  St.  Jude. ,  And  since  the 
satisfaction  to  be  given  to  particular  Churches  that  they 
were  genuine,  depended  upon  the  view  of  the  original 
letters,  and  of  the  evidence  of  those  who  carried  and 
those  who  received  them  ;  it  is  manifest  at  first  sight, 
that  this  satisfaction  might  be  had  much  more  readily, 

b  [Few  questions  relative  to  the  canon  of  Scripture  have  created 
so  much  discussion  as  that  concerning  the  authorship  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  A  tolerably  full,  though  ill-digested,  view  of  the  diiierent 
reasonings  on  the  subject,  is  given  by  Hornk,  Introduction,  Vol.  IV.  Part 
II.  chap.  iii.  sect.  16. — All  the  modern  objections  to  the  claims  of  St. 
Paul,  with  the  multifarious  conflicting  hypotheses  of  German  critics, 
are  considered,  and  satisfactorily  refuted  by  Professor  Stuart,  of  An- 
dover,  in  the  introduction  to  his  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.] 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  165 

when  it  was  known  to  what  particular  Churches  this  or 
that  epistle  was  directed,  and  where  the  originals  re- 
mained, and  both  the  messenger  and  they  who  received 
it  from  his  hands  might  be  spoke  with  ;  than  it  could  be 
had  where  the  epistles  where  directed  to  Christians  in 
general  as  dispersed  throughout  the  empire,  and  while 
it  remained  uncertain,  in  what  particular  city  or  country 
either  the  originals,  or  the  evidences  of  their  being  so, 
were  to  be  met  with.  The  not  receiving  these  so  early 
and  universally  as  tjhe  rest,  is  an  argument  of  the  care 
taken  by  particular  Churches  to  be  thoroughly  satisfied, 
that  what  they  admitted  was  really  written  by  persons 
divinely  inspired ;  and  the  receiving  them  so  univer- 
sally as  they  afterwards  did,  is  as  good  an  argument 
that  they  had  received  due  satisfaction  concerning  them. 
Nor  can  any  possible  reason  be  assigned,  why  the  whole 
Christian  Church,  Eastern  and  Western,  should  for  so 
many  ages  have  put  these  epistles  upon  the  same  foot 
of  authority  with  the  others  which  had  been  universally 
received,  but  that  all  ground  of  doubting  was  by  degrees 
removed,  and  every  Church  had  received  full  satisfaction 
that  they  were  written  by  the  inspired  persons  whose 
names  they  bore,  or  to  whom  they  were  ascribed.  We 
find  this  to  be  the  case  in  the  fourth  century,  when 
these  were  received  in  the  Greek  Church  as  of  divine 
authority,  by  the  Council  of  Laodicea  ;  and  forty  years 
after,  the  same  was  solemnly  declared  to  be  the  sense 
of  the  Latin  Church  in  the  Decretal  Epi«tle  of  Inno- 
cent I.,  which  was  also  confirmed  eighteen  years  after 
by  a  public  decree  of  the  Council  of  Carthage. 

But  long  before  these  solemn  and  general  recognitions 
of  their  authority,  they  had  been  received  as  genuine 
and  authentic  by  many  Churches  as  well  as  writers.  So 
EusEBius  says  of  them  all,  "  That  however  they  were 
reckoned  among  the  doubtful  books,  they  were  acknow- 
ledged by  many.^^" 

But  to  descend  to  particulars.  The  same  Eusebius 
says  of  the  Epistle  of  St.  James,  that  it  was  publicly 
read  in  very  many  Churches,  together  with  the  others.*^ 
And  two  peculiar  reasons  may  be  assigned  why  it  was 

•  EusEB.  E.  H.  Lib.  III.  c.  xxv.       a  Euseb.  E.  H,  Lib.  II.  c.  xxiii. 


166  BISHOP  Gibson's 

thought  spurious  by  some,  and  doutbful  by  others,  and 
not  sooner  received  by  all  ;  one,  that  though  it  is  ex- 
pressly under  the  name  o{  James,  yet  there  being  more 
persons  of  that  name  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament, 
a  dispute  arose  to  which  of  them  it  ought  to  be  as- 
cribed :e  and  the  other,  that  what  he  says  of  the  neces- 
sity of  works  in  order  to  justify  men  in  the  sight  of 
God,  seemed  to  contradict  what  St.  Paul  had  delivered 
concerning  justification  by  faith  alone ;  and  St.  Paul's 
epistles  being  universally  received,  they  who  believed 
or  suspected  that  contrariety  in  doctrine,  must  reject 
the  other  of  course,  or  at  least  suspend  their  opinion 
about  it.  But  as  these  doubts  vanished  in  particular 
Churches,  and  it  appeared  that  St.  Paul  and  St.  James 
were  so  far  from  contradicting  each  other,  that  one 
meant  the  no  necessity  of  observing  the  ceremonial 
law,  and  the  other  the  necessity  of  observing  the  moral 
law — the  one,  that  works  of  what  kind  soever,  without 
faith,  are  ineffectual  to  salvation,  and  the  other,  that 
faith  without  works  cannot  save  ;  no  scruple  was  made 
of  putting  it  upon  the  same  foot  with  the  other  epistles 
in  point  of  authority.  Eusebius  says,  that  not  many 
of  the  ancients  mentioned  it  /  and  their  silence  is 
already  accounted  for  :  but  Jerome  tells  us,  that  it  ob- 
tained authority  by  degrees  ;°  and  we  find  it  currently 
cited,  like  other  Scriptures,  by  the  fathers  of  the  fourth 
century,''  and  particularly  by  Jerome  himself,'  as  written 
by  James  the  apostle,  and  the  brother  of  our  Lord — so 
that  in  the  words  of  a  learned  commentator,  *'  They 
that  doubted  of  it  before,  did  in  the  fourth  century  em- 
brace the  opinion  of  those  that  received  it ;  and  from 
thence  no  Church  nor  ecclesiastical  writer  ever  doubted 
of  it ;  but  on  the  contrary,  all  the  catalogues  of  the 
books  of  Scripture,  whether  published  by  general  or 
provincial  councils,  &c.,  number  it  among  the  canonical 
Scriptures. "J 

The  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  has  been  already 
observed  to  be  one  of  those  which  Eusebius  mentions 
as  questioned,  but  which  also  were  acknowledged  by 


•  EusEE.  Hist.  Ecc.  Lib.  II.  c.  xxiii.  t  Ibid.  «  Hieron.  de 

Jacobo.  [in  Cat.  Script.  Eccles.]  »>  Millii  N.  T.  Proleg.  p.  '24. 

I  Hip:ron.  Ep.  ad  Paulin.  Contra  Jovinien.  xxiv.  3  Esthius,  as 

quoted  by  Whitby,  Preface  to  the  Epis.  of  St.  James. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  167 

many  as  genuine.'^  And  this  shows,  that  when  it  is 
said  by  him  that  the  ancient  fathers  acknowledged  but 
one  epistle  of  St.  Peter,  i.  e.  the  first,  it  must  be  meant, 
universally  and  without  exception — with  reference  to 
the  second,  which  was  not  so  acknowledged.  St. 
Jerome  grounds  this  doubt  concerning  the  second 
epistle,  upon  the  difference  from  the  first  in  point  of 
style.^  But  this  is  true,  in  strictness,  of  the  second 
chapter  only,  which  is  as  different  in  style  from  the 
first  and  third  chapters,  as  it  is  from  the  first  epistle  ;"* 
being,  as  to  the  matter  of  it,  manifestly  taken  from  some 
Jewish  book,"  which  gave  an  account  of  the  scoffers 
before  the  flood  who  derided  Noah's  prediction  of  it, 
and  applied  by  St.  Peter  to  the  false  teachers  who  were 
crept  in  among  the  Christians,  and  derided  their  ex- 
pectation of  deliverance  from  the  persecutions  they  were 
under,  grounded  upon  what  our  Saviour  and  his  apos- 
tles had  told  them  concerning  the  judgments  that  M^ere 
to  come  upon  the  Jewish  persecutors.  As  to  the  style 
of  that  second  chapter,  it  is  throughout  lofty  and  pomp- 
ous ;  and  in  that  respect  different  from  the  style  of  the 
other  two.  But  is  this  a  suggestion  fit  to  be  opposed 
to  the  many  testimonies  of  its  being  St.  Peter's  ?  viz. 
its  bearing  the  name  of  Simon  Peter,  by  which  he  is  so 
frequently  spoken  of  in  the  gospels  ; — the  express  men- 


k  EusEB.  Ecc.  Hist.  Lib.  II.  c.  xxv.  L.  III.  c.  iii.  L.  VI.  c.  xxv. 

I  HiERON.  de  Petro  [in  Cat.  Script.  Eclcs.] 

'"  [Yet  Bp.  ToMLiNE  declares,  that  he  "  observes  no  other  difference 
than  that  which  arises  from  the  difference  of  the  subjects.  The  sub- 
ject of  the  second  chapter  may  surely  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the  pen 
of  the  apostle  was  guided  by  a  higher  degree  of  iaspiration  than  when 
writing  in  a  didactic  jnanncr;  it  is  written  with  the  animation  and 
energy  of  the  prophetic  style;  but  there  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be 
any  thing,  either  in  phrase  or  sentiment,  inconsistent  with  the  acknow- 
ledged writings  of  St.  Peter."  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Bible, 
p.  333.  Dublin,  12mo.— Certainly  the  difference  is  not  greater  than  is 
discoverable  between  the  historic  and  [)rophetic  parts  of  the  books  of 
Isaiah  and  Moses,  nor  even  than  that  between  the  argumentative  and 
preceptive  parts  of  some  of  St.  Paul's  epistles.] 

n  [Such  was  the  opinion  of  Bishop  Shkri.ock,  maintained  at  length, 
and  with  much  plausible  reasoning,  in  the  Dissertation  on  the  Autha- 
rity  of  the  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  appended  to  his  /Jiscourses  on 
Prophecy.  It  has  since  met  with  very  general  adoption,  although 
Bishop  ToMLiNE  speaks  of  it  as  a  "  conjecture  entirely  unsupported  by 
ancient  authority,  and  in  itself  very  highly  improbable."— i76i  swpra.] 


169 

tion  it  makes  of  a  former  epislle  he  had  witten  to  them,* 
and  the  visible  connexion  between  the  two  epistles 
(the  second  being  written  to  arm  the  Christians  against 
the  uneasiness  they  were  under,  upon  the  delay  of  that 
deliverance  which  the  first  had  promised  ;)  the  mention 
he  makes  of  his  approaching  dissolution,  "  Knowing 
that  shortly  I  must  put  oft*  this  my  tabernacle,  even  as 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath  showed  me  ;"p  which 
probably  relates  to  what  our  Saviour  intimated  to  St. 
Peter  of  the  time  of  his  giving  testimony  to  the  Gospel 
by  his  death,  that  it  should  be  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  ;'J  and  the  express  mention  of  what  he  heard 
and  saw  at  the  transfiguration  on  the  mount,'  where 
none  of  the  disciples  were  with  Christ,  except  Peter, 
James,  and  John.'  To  all  which  it  must  be  added,  that 
there  is  a  fair  presumption  of  its  being  written  by  an 
apostolical  person,  from  his  using  the  style  of  "  our 
beloved  brother  Paul ;"'  and  we  do  not  find  it  was  ever 
ascribed  to  any  other  of  that  character.  So  far  from 
this,  that  St.  Jerome,  where  he  takes  notice  of  the  dif- 
ference in  style  as  the  foundation  of  the  doubts  concern- 
ing it,"  solves  the  difliculty — not  by  denying  this  epistle 
to  be  St.  Peter's,  which  could  not  be  denied  for  the 
reasons  above  mentioned — but  by  supposing  that  in  the 
two  epistles  they  were  two  different  hands  who  ex- 
pressed his  sentiments  in  Greek.  Whether  this  was  so, 
or  not,  it  shows  that  in  St.  Jerome's  opinion,  the  argu- 
ments for  its  being  St.  Peter's  could  not  be  got  over  ; 
and  in  this  opinion,  the  writers  of  that  and  the  following 
ages,  both  in  the  Eastern  and  Western  Church  concur, 
with  great  unanimity.'' 

The  objection,  and  the  only  objection,  against  re- 
ceiving the  Epistle  of  St.  Jiide  at  first,  was  his  citing 
the  prophecy  of  Enocli  ;*'  but  it  is  really  hard  to  find 
where  the  force  of  the  argument  lies,  that  because  an 
apostle  cites  out  of  another  book,  (though  we  suppose 
it  apocryphal)  a  passage  very  good  in  itself,  and  very 
apposite  to  his  purpose,  therefore  he  could  not  be  the 


«  2  Pet.  iii.  1.  p  2  Pet.  i.  14.  i  John  xxi.  22.  '  2  Pet. 

i.  16,  17,  18.         "  Matt.  xvii.  1.         «  2  Pet.  iii.  2.  15.  °  Hieron. 

de  Petro  [in  Cat.  Script.  Eccles.]  ▼  Millii  Prolegomena,  p.  25. 

"  HiERON.  Cat.  Script,  in  Jud. — Jude  14,  15. 


THIRD  PASTORAL    LETTER.  169 

author  of  the  writing  into  which  the  citation  is  grafted, 
though  such  writing  bears  his  name,  and  is  confirmed 
to  be  his  by  ancient  authority,  as  in  this  case  it  is  by 
the  joint  testimonies  of  Tertullian,''  Clement  of 
Alexandria,y  and  Origen,'=  who  expressly  cite  it  as 
St.  Jude's  ;  wherein  also  there  is  a  great  unanimity 
among  the  writers  of  the  succeeding  ages,  both  Greek 
and  Latin.a^ 

The  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  St.  John  are  so  far 
from  being  liable  to  the  objection  of  a  difference  in 
style  from  the  First,  which  was  universally  received  as 
his,  that  the  manner  of  writing  is  remarkably  the  same 
in  all  the  three ;  and  of  the  thirteen  verses  which  make 
the  whole  Second  Epistle,  several  ^  are  manifestly 
the  same  in  sense,  and  some  word  for  word.  None 
of  the  three  are  under  the  name  of  John,  and  in 
that  respect  the  two  last  are  of  equal  authority  with 
the  first ;  but  the  second  and  third  are  written  under 
the  style  of  "  Elder,"  which  peculiarly  suits  the  age 
as  well  as  character  of  St.  John,  who  was  above 
ninety  years  old  when  they  were  written,  and  had  the 
direction  and  government  of  all  the  Asiatic  Churches. 
Considering  how  very  short  these  two  epistles  are, 
and  that  several  things  contained  in  them  are  also 
to  be  found  in  the  First  Epistle,  it  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  many  citations  out  of  them  should  be  met 
with  in  the  writers  of  the  Church,  either  ancient  or 
modern.  But  it  so  falls  out,  that  Iren^eus  in  the  second 
century  cites  three  verses,  w^ord  for  word,  out  of  the 
second  epistle,  under  the  name  of  "  John  the  Disciple 
of  our  Lord;"'  and  that  no  doubt  may  remain  whether 
he  might  not  mean  John  the  Presbyter,  whom  we  find 
mentioned  in  Eusebius  as  one  of  Christ's  disciples,^ 
or  any  other  John  but  John  the  Apostle  and  Evangelist; 
he  cites  two  other  passages  to  the  very  same  purpose, 
one  taken  out  of  the  First  Epistle,  and  the  other  out  of 
the  gospel  of  St.  John,  and  all  the  three  as  taken  out 


*  Tertull.  de  Ornat.  Mul.  Lib.  I.         y  Clem.  Alex.  Pcedag. 
Lib.  III.  c.  viii.  ^  Origen,   Comm.  in  Matth.  Tom.  XL  p.  223. 

*  MiLLii  Prolegomena,  p.  25.      *>  [Dr.  Lardner  says  eight.]     °  2  John 
7,  8.  IL  Irenjeus,  Lib.  IL  c.  xiii.  sec.  2.  Lib.  IIL  c.  xviii.       d  Euseb. 
Hist.  Eu:  Lib.  III.  c.  xxxix. 
Vol.  v.— 15  " 


170 

of  the  writings  of  one  and  the  same  person.  Clemeni^ 
Alexandrinus,  citing  a  passage  out  of  the  First  Epistle, 
calls  it  his  larger  epistle  f  which  supposes  one,  at  least, 
that  was  not  so  large.  Dionysius  Alexandrinus, 
contending  for  an  opinion  he  had  entertained,  that  St. 
John  was  not  the  writer  of  the  Apocalypse, «  makes  it 
one  argument,  that  the  name  is  set  to  the  Apocalypse, 
whereas  no  name  is  set  to  the  Second  or  Third  Epistle, 
which  he  says  were  then  usually^  ascribed  to  him.  And 
Origen,  where  he  tells  us  that  all  did  not  receive  these 
two  epistles,  implies  that  the  greatest  part  did.^  The 
occasion  of  writing  them  is  supposed  with  great  proba- 
bilityh  to  have  been  the  report  made  of  the  liberality  of 
the  'Elect  Lady'  and  of  Gains,  by  certain  persons 
whom  St.  John  had  recommended  to  the  Churches  of 
Asia  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel ;  and  these 
acknowledgments  of  the  liberality  of  each,  must  come 
from  one  and  the  same  hand,  namely,  that  upon  whose 
recommendation  it  was  bestowed. 

Although  the  Book  of  Revelations  is  of  a  different 
nature  from  the  epistles,  as  relating  more  to  the  state 
of  the  Christian  Church  in  future  times,  than  to  the  doc- 
trines at  first  delivered  to  it ;  yet  because  it  is  part  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  one  of  the  books  about  which 
doubts  have  been  raised,  whether  or  no  they  were  writ- 
ten by  the  persons  whose  names  they  bear,  I  will  here 
lay  down  the  many  cogent  reasons  there  are  for  con- 
cluding it  to  have  been  written  by  St.  John  the  Apostle 
and  Evangelist,  and  not  by  any  other.  In  the  first  verse, 
it  is  called,  "The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  to  his 
servant  John ;"  and  in  the  ninth  verse,  it  is  said,  "  I 
John  was  in  the  isle  that  is  called  Patmos  for  the  word 
of  God  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ."  Now 
EusEBius,  speaking  of  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 
by  the  emperor  Domitian,  mentions  St.  John  the  Apos- 
tle and  Evangelist,  as  then  banished  to  the  isle  of  Pat- 
mos.' The  same  is  mentioned  by  Tertullian  ;^  and 
Clemens  Alexandrinus'  speaks   of  his  return  from 


d  Clem.  Alex.  Stromal.  Lib.  II.         «  Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc.  Lib.  VII. 
c.  XXV.         f  About  the  year  260.  e  Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc.  Lib.  VI.  c. 

XIV.         h  MiLLii  Prolegomena,  p.  18.         >  Euseb.  Lib.  III.  c.  xviii. 
I«  Tebtull.  de  Prescript,  c.  xxxvi.         i  Ecseb.  Lib.  III.  c.  xxiii. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  171 

thence  to  Ephesus  after  the  death  of  Domitian ;  and 
there  is  no  pretence  that  any  other  John  was  banished 
to  that  island.  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  Dialogue  with 
Trypho  the  Jew,  expressly  ascribes  it  to  "  John,  one  of 
the  apostles  of  Christ."""  Iren^us  mentions  it  as 
*'  the  Revelation  of  John  the  Disciple  of  our  Lord  ;"• 
and  that  he  meant  St.  John  the  Apostle  and  Evangelist, 
appears  from  what  he  tells  us  concerning  the  time  when 
this  revelation  was  made  to  him,  viz.  'about  the  latter 
end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian,'"'  which  was  the  time 
when  he  was  in  the  island  of  Patmos ;  and  yet  more 
clearly,  by  telling  us  it  was  '  the  disciple  who  leaned 
upon  Jesus'  bosom  at  supper.'?  Tertullian  also 
cites  it  expressly  under  the  name  oi  John  the  Apostle  ;'^ 
and  Origen,  where  he  speaks  of  the  banishment  of 
John  the  brother  of  James  into  that  island,  speaks  also 
of  the  revelation  there  made  to  him,  and  cites  the  book 
under  his  name."  Likewise,  the  style  given  by  the 
ancients  to  the  writer  of  this  book,  and  affixed  to  the 
title  of  it,  I  mean,  "  The  Divine,"'  is  usually  supposed 
to  refer  to  the  first  verse  of  St.  John's  gospel,  in  which 
he  asserts  the  divinity  of  Christ.' 

In  these  authorities  there  are  several  circumstances 
which  give  a  peculiar  force  to  them  in  the  present  point* 
In  general,  what  they  say  is  delivered  without  the  least 
mark  of  doubt  or  hesitation.  And  as  to  the  particular 
writers,  Iren^us  was  the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  and 
Polycarp  of  St.  John ;  and  he  tells  us  he  had  a  passage 
in  this  book  explained  to  him  by  those  who  had  seen 
John  face  to  face. "^  Justin  Martyr  was  converted  to 
the  Christian  faith  within  thirty-eight  years  after  the 
writing  of  the  Apocalypse ;  and  within  fifty-four  years 
from  that  time  he  wrote  his  Dialogue  with  Trypho  the 
Jew.  Those  several  fathers  who  give  testimony  to  the 
authority  of  the  Apocalypse,  as  Avritten  by  John  the 
Apostle  and  Evangelist,  did  not  all  dwell  in  Asia,  but  in 
several  other  parts  of  the  world,  whose  sense  they  may 
be  presumed  to  speak,  as  well  as  their  own — Iren^us 


•"  Just.  Mart.  Dial,  cum  Tryph.  "  Iren.  Lib.  IV.  c.  xxxvii.  1,  Ibid, 
Lib.  V.  c.  xxvi.  "  Ibid.  Lib.  V.  c.  xxx.  p  Ibid.  Lib.  IV.  c.  xxxvii. 
1  Tertull.  contra   Marc.SJih.  III.  c.  xiv.  '  Origen,   Comm.  in 

Matth.  p.  417.  »  QcdXoyoi.  i  Utof  h  Xoyoi.  «  Iren.  Lib.  V.  c, 

XXX, 


172  BISHOP  Gibson's 

at  Lyons  in  Gaul;  Clemens  and  Origen  in  Egypt; 
and  Tertullian  in  Africa.  And  it  is  a  poor  evasion 
of  the  authority  of  those  ancient  writers,  to  allege  that 
some  of  them  had  their  peculiar  notions  about  otJier 
points  ;  as  if  a  singularity  of  opinion  in  this  or  that 
doctrine  could  render  them  incompetent  witnesses  to  a 
matter  of  fact,  which  they  had  so  good  an  opportunity 
to  know  ! 

Their  authority  is  further  strengthened  by  this,  that 
there  is  no  ground  or  color  for  the  two  conjectures  of 
the  Apocalypse  being  written  by  John  the  Presbyter,^ 
or  by  Cerinthus.'''  There  is  no  pretence  to  say  that  the 
first  was  banished  into  the  isle  of  Patmos  ;  and  as  to  the 
second,  his  principles,  that  Christ  was  a  mere  man, 
and,  that  he  "was  not  to  rise  from  the  dead  till  the  gene- 
ral resurrection,  are  directly  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Apocalypse  ;''  and  moreover,  his  millenary  state 
was  not  the  life  of  saints,  as  the  Apocalypse  represents 
it,  but  the  life  of  libertines. 

That  there  were  so  fcAV  copies  taken  of  this  book,  in 
comparison  with  the  other  books  of  the  New  Testament, 
was  owing  to  the  subject  matter  of  it,  which  was  very 
obscure,  and  related  not  so  much  to  the  past  or  present, 
as  to  the  future  state  of  the  Christian  Church,  in  which 
the  generality  of  Christians  were  not  directly  concerned.  >' 
For  this  reason,  it  was  not  joined  at  first  to  the  evange- 
lical or  epistolary  canon,  but  was  considered  as  a  writing 
by  itself,  and  of  a  difterent  nature  from  the  rest ;  neither 
was  it  directed  to  be  read  publicly  in  the  Church,  because 
of  its  obscurity,  and  the  little  relation  it  had  to  the  Gospel 
state  in  those  days.  And  this,  together  with  the  time^ 
when  it  was  written,  accounts  for  the  silence  of  the 
most  early  fathers  concerning  it,  and  for  its  being  omit- 
ted in  some  of  the  catalogues  of  the  books  of  Holy 
Scripture,  particularly  that  of  the  Council  of  Laodicea, 
the  design  of  which  Council  w^as  to  enumerate  such 
books  as  were  to  be  read  publicly  in  the  Church,  as 
appears  by  the  express  words  of  the  canon  upon  that 
head. 


"  EusEB.  Hist.  Ecc.  Lib.  III.  c.  xxviii.         ^  Ibid.  Lib.  VII.  c.  xxv. 
*  Rev.  i.  5.  7,  8.  11 ;  xxi.  6;  xxii.  13.  y  Orig.  Comm.  in  Matth. 

p.  220.         '  Not  before  the  year  96. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  173 

The  difference  in  style  from  St.  John's  other  writings, 
and  the  mention  of  his  name  here  and  not  in  the  others, 
are  also  fairly  accounted  for  by  the  difference  of  subject; 
this  being  of  the  prophetic  kind,  and  the  prophets  usu- 
ally prefixing  their  names  to  the  accounts  of  the  visions 
and  revelations  they  had  received  from  God  ;  as  we 
find  in  the  instances  of  Isaiah,^  Jeremiah,''  Ezekiel,= 
Daniel,*^  and  others.  But  notwithstanding  the  difference 
in  style,  we  may  observe,  in  several  instances,  a  coinci- 
dence in  expression  between  this  and  his  other  writings; 
and  this  generally,  in  such  expressions  as  are  not  to  be 
met  with  in  the  whole  New  Testament,  except  in  the 
gospel  and  epistles  of  St.  John.  In  the  Revelations, 
it  is  said  of  Christ  that  his  name  is  called  "  The  Word 
of  God  ;"^  and  in  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  he  is  styled 
"  The  Word,'"'  and  in  his  First  Epistle,  "  The  Word  of 
Life."^  In  the  Revelations,  he  is  called  "  The  Lamb,"t» 
and  in  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  "The  Lamb  of  God."' 
In  the  Revelations,  the  name  of  Christ  is,  "He  that  is 
true," — "He  that  is  faithful  and  true  ;"k  in  the  First 
Epistle  of  St.  John,  "  He  that  is  true  ;"'  and  in  the  gos- 
pel, "full  of  Truth,"  and  "The  Truth."™  In  the  Reve- 
lations, 'manna'  is  applied  to  spiritual  food;"  and  so 
it  is  applied  in  the  gospel  of  St.  John.°  In  the  Revela- 
tions, it  is  said  from  the  prophet  Zechariah,  "  Every 
eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also  which  pierced  him  ;"p 
and  in  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  "  They  shall  look  on 
him  whom  they  pierced."^  In  the  Revelations,  Christ 
saith,  "  If  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I 
will  come  to  him,  and  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me  :"'f 
in  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  "  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will 
keep  my  words,  and  my  father  will  love  him,  and  we 
will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him."' 

Thus  stands  the  authority  of  this  book,  upon  the  foot 
of  ancient  testimonies.  But  when  the  doctrine  of  the 
millenary  state  began  to  be  advanced  under  the  notion 
of  a  state  in  which  sensual  delights  were  to  be  enjoye(i 


*  Isa.  i.  1.  b  Jerem.  i.  1.  "  Ezek.  i,  3.  '»  Dan.  vii.  3.  ^  Rev, 
xix.  13.  f  Joh.  i.  1.  si  Joh.  i.  1.  ^  Rev.  v.  6. 12.  •  Joh, 
i.  24.  36.  k  Rev.  iii.  7 ;  xix.  11.  i  1  Joh.  v.  20.  «"  Joh.  i.  14  3 
xiv.  6.  °  Rev,  ii.  17.  °  Joh.  vi.  32.  p  Rev.  i,  7,         1  Joh, 

xix.  37.        '  Rev.  iii.  20.        ■  Joh.  xiv.  23. 

15* 


174  BISHOP  Gibson's 

in  the  greatest  perfection,  and  the  authority  of  the  Reve- 
lations was  alleged,  though  very  unjustly,  in  support 
of  that  carnal  doctrine  ;'  the  zeal  of  some  writers  against 
this  doctrine,  which  was  indeed  exceeding  wicked  and 
corrupt,  led  them  to  raise  scruples  about  the  authority 
of  the  book  itself;^  which,  though  it  speaks  of  Christ's 
reigning  a  thousand  years  with  the  saints,"  gives  not 
the  least  ground  to  suppose  that  it  will  be  a  state  of 
sensual  delights.  On  the  contrary,  it  supposes  the  mem- 
bers of  that  kingdom  to  be  martyrs  and  other  holy  men 
who  had  preserved  themselves  from  the  corruptions  of 
the  world.     But  after  this  controversy  was  over,  the 
scruples  vanished,^  and  the  Christian  Church  received 
it  among  the  other  inspired  writings,  upon  those  ancient 
testimonies  that  it  was  the  work  of  St.  John  the  Apostle 
and  Evangelist ;  though  not  being  so  proper  as  the  rest 
to  be  read  publicly  in  the  Church,  it  might  in  that  respect 
be  considered  sometimes  in  a  different  light  from  them. 
This  is  not  the  only  instance,  in  which  a  particular 
controversy  has  led  men  in  the  heat  of  dispute,  to  call 
in  question  the  authority  of  particular  books  of  Scrip- 
ture, which  they  thought  unfavorable  to  the  doctrine 
they  had  espoused  :  there  are  instances  of  this  kind, 
both  ancient  and  modern.     The  Manichees,  who  held 
a  monstrous  opinion  that  the  God  of  the  Old  Testament 
was  not  the  God  of  the  New,  rejected  St.  Matthew's 
gospel,  on  account  of  the  references  he  makes  to  the 
Old  Testament,  which  show  both  to  be  the  dispensations 
of  one  and  the  same  God,  and  both  to  centre  in  the 
Messiah.     The  Ebionites,  wlio  in  some  sort  received 
the  faith,  but  yet  were  zealous   for  the  Mosaical  law, 
admitted  no  gospel  but  that  of  St.  Matthew,  as  written 
particularly  for  the  use  of  the  Hebrews.    The  Alogi,  (or 
deniers  of  the  Logos,)  finding  it  impossible  to  reconcile 
their  doctrine  to  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  and  yet  not 
venturing  to  except  against  the  authority  of  an  apostle, 
had  no  way  left,  but  to  deny  that  he  was  the  writer. 
The  Latin  Church,  as  I  have  already  observed,'''  finding 
themselves  pressed  by  some  passages  in  the  Epistle  to 


*  EusBB.  Hist.  Ecc.  Lib.  III.  c.  xxviii.  '  Ibid.  Lib.  VIL  c.  xxv. 

MiLLii  Prolegomena,  p.  19.  "  Rev.  xx.  4,  5.  '  Millii  Prole- 

gomena,  p.  19.         w  Page  162. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  ITS 

the  Hebrews  in  favor  of  the  Novatian  doctrine  against 
the  receiving  of  lapsed  penitents,  showed  too  great  an 
incUnation,  for  some  time,  to  cherish  doubts  concerning 
the  author  of  that  epistle.  And  in  later  days,  it  is  well 
known  that  the  Antinomians,  and  others  who  have  car- 
ried tlie  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone  to  too 
great  a  height,  have  also  endeavored  to  invalidate  the 
Epistle  of  St.  James,  which  makes  works  also  a  neces- 
sary condition  of  our  being  justified  in  the  sight  of 
GoD.^ 

But  however  serviceable  it  may  have  been  thought  to 
the  advocates  of  tliis  or  that  peculiar  tenet,  to  raise 
doubts  about  the  authority  of  this  or  that  epistle,  as 
particularly  relating  to  the  dispute  then  in  hand ;  yet 
those  doubts  can  be  of  no  service  to  the  cause  of  infi- 
delity, as  long  as  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  the  general  doctrines  of  it,  are  supported  by  others, 
whose  writings  have  been  universally  received  both  as 
genuine,  and  as  of  divine  authority.^ 

It  appears  by  what  has  been  said  upon  this  head, 
that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  written  by 
the  persons  whose  names  they  bear,  or  to  Avhom  they 
have  been  ascribed,  and  that  those  writings  are  divinely 
inspired  ; — that  the  greatest  part  of  those  books  have 
been  unanimously  received  by  all  Christian  Churches 
from  the  beginning ; — that  the  reason  why  some  were 
not  received  so  soon  as  others,  w^as,  the  necessity  of 
particular  Churches  having  satisfaction  as  to  their  being 
written  by  some  apostle,  or  inspired  person,  and  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  such  satisfaction  in  some  cases 
more  than  in  others,  by  reason  of  distance  of  place,  or 
other  circumstances  ; — that  the  doubts  which  have  arisen 


^  [We  may  add,  that  the  combatants  of  Antinomian  error  have,  on 
the  other  hand,  in  their  dread  of  the  countenance  of  that  gross  perver- 
sion of  Gospel  truth  wrested  from  the  E])istles  of  St.  Paul,  even  "  gone 
the  length  of  proposing  tlnit  no  part  of  the  Scriptures  should  be  printed 
for  circulation  among  the  mass  of  the  people,  except  the  four  gospels  : 
on  the  ground  that  they  contain  all  things  needful,  and  that  the  things 
hard  to  be  understood  in  St.  Paul's  writings  would  serve  only  to  per- 
plex and  mislead  them."  Whately's  Essays  on  the  Difficulties  of 
St.  Paul,  p.  69  ;  in  the  second  of  which  admirable  treatises  this  foolish 
alarm  is  thoroughly  exposed.] 

y  See  before,  p.  153. 


176  BISHOP    GIBSON  S 

concerning  some  particular  books,  have  generally  been 
the  doubts,  not  of  Churches,  but  of  persons,  and  have 
been  grounded  either  upon  the  want  of  express  mention 
of  the  writer's  name,  or  there  having  been  two  persons 
of  the  same  name — both  which  uncertainties  are  adjusted, 
and  the  doubts  arising  from  them  fully  cleared,  by  testi- 
monies ancient  and  uncontested  ; — that  the  differences 
of  style  are  either  imaginary,  or  such  as  the  differences 
in  the  subjects  and  occasions  fairly  account  for,  and  are 
by  no  means  of  weight  enough  to  be  opposed  to  the 
positive  testimony  of  ancient  and  authentic  writers ; — 
that  those,  and  the  like  arguments,  weak  and  inconclu- 
sive in  their  nature,  haA^e  been  generally  laid  hold  on, 
on  purpose  to  favor  some  opinions  which  particular 
persons  had  espoused,  and  which  had  no  better  argu- 
ments to  support  them  ; — and,  that  these  having  yielded 
to  the  force  of  truth  for  many  hundred  years,  and  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament  having  been  so  long  re- 
ceived by  the  whole  Christian  Church  as  of  apostolical 
authority,  nothing  more  is  needful  to  establish  them  as 
such,  but  to  show,  that, 

V.  The  hooks  of  the  New  Testament,  in  which  the 
doctrines  delivered  hy  Christ  and  his  apostles  are  con- 
tained, have  been  faithfully  transmitted  to  the  Chris- 
tians of  succeeding  ages.^ 

And,  in  general,  it  rests  upon  those  who  call  in  ques- 
tion the  fidelity  of  the  transmission  in  this  case,  to  show 
that  any  other  book  whatsoever  has  such  and  so  many 
plain  and  strong  testimonies  of  a  faithful  transmission, 
as  the  New  Testament ;  lest  while  their  zeal  against 
Christianity  drives  them  into  groundless  cavils  and 
doubts  about  the  authority  of  those  books,  they  involve 
themselves  in  the  absurdity  of  rejecting  all  ancient 
writings  whatsoever,  as  not  only  altered  from  the 
originals,  but  altered  to  such  a  degree  as  not  to  repre- 
sent to  us  the  genuine  meaning  and  design  of  their 
authors.  It  is  well  known,  how  early  the  Christian 
religion  was  carried  into  almost  all  parts  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  into  regions  and  countries  very  numerous  and 


*  [The  subject  of  this  head  is  fully  and  ably  treated  in  Taylor's 
History  of  the  Transmission  of  Ancient  Books,  London,  1827,  8vo.l 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  177 

very  distant  from  one  another;  and  as  Christianity 
spread,  copies  of  the  New  Testament  spread  with  it, 
and  not  oiily  remained  in  the  hands  of  numbers  of  pri- 
vate Christians,  but  were  publicly  received  and  read 
in  their  religious  assemblies.  So  that  if  one  person 
had  attempted  to  alter  and  corrupt  his  copy,  it  would 
quickly  have  been  discovered  by  the  rest ;  or  if  a  whole 
country  had  attempted  it,  the  copies  throughout  all 
other  countries  would  have  been  so  many  testimonies 
of  the  fraud. 

If,  therefore,  we  could  suppose  the  ancient  Christians 
ever  so  much  inclined  to  alter  and  corrupt,  none  of 
them  could  have  attempted  it  with  the  least  probability 
of  success.  And  what  rendered  it  yet  more  impracti- 
cable, was,  the  appeal  that  might  be  made,  upon  any 
suspicion  of  forgery,  to  the  authentic  writings,  remain- 
ing and  kept  with  the  greatest  care  in  the  archives  of 
several  Churches  that  had  been  planted  by  the  apostles  ; 
to  which  Tertullian^  expressly  refers  in  his  reason- 
ings against  the  heretics  of  those  times,  as  then  in 
being,  and  to  be  freely  consulted. 

But  what  should  tempt  or  incline  the  first  Christians 
to  corrupt  books  that  contained  those  truths  on  which 
they  grounded  all  their  hopes,  and  for  which  they  were 
ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  ?  books,  which  they  kept 
with  so  much  care,  and  held  sacred  to  such  a  degree, 
that  if  any  Christian  happened  to  be  persuaded  by 
threatenings  and  cruelties  to  deliver  them  up  to  the 
Heathen  persecutors,  they  were  put  under  the  severest 
penance  by  the  Church  ;  and  we  know  some  chose  to 
die  rather  than  deliver  them. 

Many  passages,  also,  cited  out  of  those  books,  are 
found  in  the  most  early  writers  of  the  Church,  which 
appear  to  be  the  same  that  we  now  have  in  our  printed 
copies.  Controversies  arose  in  the  Church  as  early  as 
the  second  century  ;  and  as  both  sides  appealed  to  those 
writings,  so  if  either  had  changed  and  corrupted  them, 
the  cheat  must  have  been  discovered,  and  the  authors 
of  the  corruption  exposed  by  their  adversaries ;  they 


»  Tertuli-.  de  Prcescript.  adv.  Hcereticos.  [This  passage  of  Ter- 
TULLiAN  is  examined,  and  the  interpretation  given  by  Bishop  Gibson 
supported  at  some  length  by  Faber  in  an  appendix  to  his  Difficulties 
of  Romanism.] 


178  BISHOP  Gibson's 

who  were  concerned  in  those  controversies  being  many 
of  them  persons  who  \vanted  neither  learning  nor  pene- 
tration.^ The  same  writings  were  early  translated  out 
of  the  Greek  into  other  languages,  (Syriac,  Latin,  &c.) 
betAveen  which  and  the  original  Greek  there  is  the 
greatest  agreement  in  sense  and  matter. 

Add  to  all  this,  that  many  ancient  written  copies  of 
those  early  translations,  and  also  of  the  original  Greek, 
have  been  preserved  to  our  own  times,  and  procured  by 
learned  men  out  of  the  several  countries  in  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  where  Christianity  was  planted  in  the 
most  early  ages  ;  and  such  copies  have  been  found, 
upon  the  exactest  collation,  to  agree  with  those  that  are 
now  used  in  the  Christian  Church,  with  much  less  vari- 
ation than  is  allowed,  in  all  other  writings,  to  be  fairly 
placed  to  the  mistakes  and  oversights  of  transcribers. 

For  as  to  the  objection  from  the  great  number  of  va^ 
rious  readings  which  have  been  found  upon  comparing 
those  copies,  it  is  of  no  manner  of  weight.    It  is  indeed 


''  ["This  is  a  circumstance  of  the  utmost  significance,  and,  if  not 
peculiar  to  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures,  yet  belonging  to  them 
in  a  degiee  which  places  their  uncorrupted  preservation  on  a  basis  in- 
comparably more  extended  and  substantial  than  that  of  any  other 
ancient  writings.  The  Latin  authors  were  barely  dispersed  over  the 
Roman  world,  and  never  in  the  keeping  of  separated  nations,  or  hostile 
parties.  The  Greek  classics  were  indeed,  to  some  extent,  in  the  hands 
of  the  western  nations,  as  well  as  of  the  Greeks,  during  the  middle  ages. 
And,  if  any  weight  can  be  attached  to  the  fact,  some  of  these  works 
were  also  in  the  keeping  of  the  Arabians  :  but  they  were  never  the  sub- 
ject of  mutual  appeal  by  rival  communities. 

"  The  reproach  of  the  Christian  Church,  its  divisions,  has  been,  in 
part  at  least,  redeemed  by  the  security  thereby  afforded  for  the  uncor- 
rupted transmission  of  its  records.  Almost  the  earliest  Christian 
apologists  avail  themselves  of  this  argument  in  proof  of  the  integrity  of 
the  sacred  text.  Augustine  especially  urged  it  against  those  who  en- 
deavored to  impeach  its  authority  :  there  never  was  a  time  when  an 
attempt  on  any  extensive  scale,  even  if  otherwise  practicable,  to  alter 
the  text  would  not  have  raised  an  outcry  in  some  quarter. 

"  From  the  earliest  times  the  common  rule  of  faith  was  held  up  for 
the  purposes  of  defence  or  aggression  by  the  Church  and  by  some  dis- 
sentient party.  Afterwards  the  partition  of  the  Christian  community 
into  two  hostile  bodies,  of  which  Rome  and  Constantinople  were  the 
heads,  afforded  security  against  a  general  consent  to  effect  alterations 
in  the  text.  And  in  still  later  ages  a  few  uncorrupted  communities 
existing  within  the  bounds  of  the  Romish  Church,  became  the  guardians 
of  the  sacred  volumes." — Taylor  on  the  Transmission  of  Ancient 
Books,  p.  210.  s.] 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  170 

fairly  presumed,  that  the  providence  of  God  would  pre- 
serve inspired  writings,  which  were  intended  for  the 
perpetual  instruction  of  the  Church,  pure  and  uncorrupt, 
as  to  the  doctrines  contained  in  them  ;  but  it  is  not  pre- 
tended that  the  transcribers  of  those  writings  were  se- 
cured by  any  extraordinary  interposition  of  Providence, 
from  every  the  least  error  in  copying  them.  It  was  ne- 
cessary that  the  books  themselves  should  be  written  un- 
der the  immediate  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  because 
the  things  to  be  delivered  in  them  were  above  the  reach 
of  natural  reason  ;  and  nothing  less  than  divine  inspira- 
tion could  make  them  a  perpetual  rule  to  the  Church. 
But  the  faithful  transmission  of  them  to  future  ages 
might  be  sufficiently  proved,  upon  the  same  foot,  and 
in  the  same  manner,  as  the  faithful  transmission  of  any 
other  ancient  writings. <=  So  that  it  rests  upon  those 
who  urge  this  argument  against  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament,  to  show  that  tliose  various  readings  do  at 
all  affect  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  or  that  such 
variety  in  any  one  place  renders  any  one  doctrine 
doubtful,  that  is  not  fully  and  clearly  delivered  in  other 
parts  of  the  New  Testament.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe 
it  may  be  safely  affirmed,  that  every  single  copy  would 
exhibit  a  true  and  just  account  of  Christianity ;  where 
there  is  an  honest  disposition  to  learn,  and  (in  order  to 
that)  to  correct  the  errors  of  transcribers,  by  comparing 
places  of  the  same  import  and  tendency  with  one  an- 
other ;  making  the  usual  allowances  for  ordinary  slips 
of  the  pen.*^ 

If  the  number  of  various  readings  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, as  they  have  been  published  from  time  to  time  by 
learned  men,  should  be  granted  to  be  greater  than  in 
other  ancient  writings,  as  they  are  not,  there  are  two 
things  that  would  plainly  account  for  it; — the  first,  that 
the  copies  which  were  taken  of  this  book  before  the  use 
of  printing,  infinitely  exceeded  in  number  the  copies  of 
any  other  ancient  book  whatsoever ;  and  the  more  the 
copies  are,  the  more  numerous  of  course  will  the  vari- 


'  [Of  this  fact,  the  work  of  Taylor,  already  quoted,  furnishes  the 
most  conclusive,  and  indeed  superabundant  proof] 

^  [See  the  extract  from  Bentley,  in  the  Standard  Works,  Vol.  I. 
p.  280,  s.] 


180  BISHOP  Gibson's 

ous  readings  be  ;^ — the  second,  that  no  ancient  writings 
whatsoever  have  been  examined  with  the  same  care, 
and  the  copies  collated  with  the  like  exactness,  and  the 
various  readings  set  down  even  to  a  difference  as  to  syl- 
lables, letters,  and  order  of  words,  as  has  been  done  in 
those  of  the  New  Testament ;  which  greatly  increases 
the  number  of  readings,  of  how  little  importance  soever 
most  of  them  may  he  J    But  at  the  same  time,  it  is  very 


•  ["If  there  had  been  but  one  manuscript  of  the  Greek  Testament, 
at  the  restoration  of  learning  about  two  centuries  ago,  then  we  had  had 
no  various  readings  at  all.  And  would  the  text  be  in  a  better  condition 
then,  than  now  we  have  30,000 '?  So  far  from  that,  that  in  the  best  sin- 
gle copy  extant  we  should  have  had  hundreds  of  faults,  and  some  omis- 
sions irreparable.  Besides  that,  the  suspicions  of  fraud  and  foul  play 
would  have  been  immensely  increased. 

"  It  is  good,  therefore,  you  will  allow,  to  have  more  anchors  than  one  : 
and  another  manuscript  to  join  with  the  first,  would  give  more  autho- 
rity as  well  as  security.  Now  choose  that  second  where  you  will,  there 
shall  be  a  thousand  variations  from  the  first ;  and  yet  half  or  more  of  the 
faults  still  remain  in  them  both. 

"A  third,  therefore,  and  so  a  fourth,  and  still  on,  are  desirable  ;  that 
by  a  joint  and  mutual  help  all  the  faults  may  be  mended;  some  copy 
preserving  the  true  reading  in  one  place,  and  some  in  another.  And 
yet,  the  more  copies  you  call  to  assistance,  the  more  do  the  various 
readings  multiply  upon  you  ;  every  copy  ha\ing  its  peculiar  slips, 
though  in  a  principal  passage  or  two  it  do  singular  service.  And  this 
is  fact,  not  only  in  the  New  Testament,  but  in  all  ancient  books 
whatever." — Bentley's  Remarks  on  the  Discourse  on  Free  Think- 
ing, pp.  64,  G5.] 

f  ["Terence  is  now  in  one  of  the  best  conditions  of  any  of  the  classic 
writers  :  the  oldest  and  best  copy  of  him  is  now  in  the  Vatican  Library, 
which  comes  nearest  to  the  poet's  own  hand  ;  but  even  that  has  hundreds 
of  errors,  most  of  which  may  be  mended  out  of  other  exemplars,  that 
are  otherwise  more  recent,  and  of  inferior  value.  I  myself  have  collated 
several ;  and  affirm,  that  I  have  seen  20,000  various  lections  of  that 
little  author,  not  near  so  big  as  the  whole  New  Testament ;  and  am 
morally  sure,  that  if  half  the  number  of  manuscripts  were  collated  for 
Terence,  with  that  nicencss  and  minuteness,  which  has  been  used  in 
twice  as  many  for  the  New  Testament,  the  number  of  the  variations 
would  amount  to  above  50,000. 

"  The  editors  of  profane  authors  do  not  use  to  trouble  their  readers, 
or  risk  their  own  reputation,  by  a  useless  list  of  every  small  slip  com- 
mitted by  a  lazy  or  ignorant  scribe.  What  is  thought  commendable  in 
an  edition  of  Scripture,  and  has  the  name  of  fairness  and  fidelity, 
would  in  them  be  deemed  impertinence  rmd  trifiing.  Hence  the  reader 
not  versed  in  ancient  manuscripts,  is  deceived  into  an  opinion  that 
there  were  no  more  variations  in  the  copies  than  what  the  editor  has 
communicated.  Whereas,  if  the  like  scrupulousness  was  observed  in 
registering  the  smallest  changes  in  profane  authors,  as  is  allowed,  nay 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  183 

certain  that  the  number  of  copies  greatly  strengthens  the 
authority  of  the  books,  both  by  the  agreement  of  such 
vast  numbers,  fctch#d  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  (just 
allowance  being  made  to  the  accidental  slips  or  mistakes 
of  transcribers,  which  cause  no  material  alteration  either 


required,  in  sacred,  the  now  formidable  number  of  30,000  [now  100,000] 
would  appear  a  very  trifle." 

"And  yet  in  these,  and  all  other  books,  the  text  is  not  made  more 
precarious  on  that  account,  but  more  certain  and  authentic.  So  that, 
if  I  may  advise  you,  when  you  hear  more  of  this  scarecrow  of  30,000, 
be  neither  astonished  at  the  sum,  nor  in  any  pain  for  the  text.  The 
New  Testament  has  suflfered  less  injury  by  the  hand  of  time  than  any 
profane  author ;  there  being  not  one  ancient  book  besides  it  in  the 
world,  that,  with  all  the  help  of  various  lections,  (be  they  50,000  if  you 
will)  does  not  stand  in  further  want  of  emendation  by  true  critique ; 
nor  is  there  one  good  edition  of  any,  that  has  not  inserted  into  the  text 
(though  every  reader  knows  it  not)  what  no  manuscript  vouches. 

"  Make  your  30,000  as  many  more,  if  numbers  of  copies  can  ever  reach 
that  sum ;  all  the  better  to  a  serious  and  knowing  reader,  who  is  thereby 
more  richly  furnished  to  select  what  he  sees  genuine.  But  even  put 
them  into  the  hands  of  a  knave  or  fool,  and  yet,  with  the  most  sinistrous 
and  absurd  choice,  he  shall  not  extinguish  the  light  of  any  one  chapter, 
nor  so  disguise  Christianity,  but  that  every  feature  of  it  will  still  be  the 
same. 

"  And  this  has  already  prevented  the  last  shift  and  objection ;  that 
sacred  books  at  least,  books  imposed  upon  the  world  as  sacred  laws  and 
revelations,  should  have  been  exempted  from  the  injuries  of  time,  and 
secured  from  the  least  change.  For  what  need  of  that  perpetual  mira- 
cle, if  with  all  the  present  changes,  the  whole  Scripture  is  perfect  and 
sufficient,  to  all  the  great  ends  and  purposes  of  its  first  writing  1  what 
a  scheme  would  these  men  make  ?  what  worthy  rules  would  they  pre- 
scribe to  Providence  7 — That  in  millions  of  copies  transcribed  in  so 
many  ages  and  nations,  all  the  notaries  and  writers,  who  made  it  their 
trade  and  livelihood,  should  be  infallible  and  impeccable  1  That  their 
pens  should  spontaneously  write  true,  or  be  supernaturally  guided, 
though  the  scribes  were  nodding  or  dreaming  7  Would  not  tliis  exceed 
all  the  miracles  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament  ?  And,  pray,  to 
what  great  use  or  design  %  To  give  satisfaction  to  a  few  obstinate  and 
untractable  wretches ;  to  those  who  are  not  convinced  hy  Moses  and 
the  Prophets,  but  want  one  from  the  dead  to  come  and  convert  them. 
Such  men  mistake  the  methods  of  Providence,  and  the  very  fundamen- 
tals of  religion  ;  which  draws  its  votaries  by  the  cords  of  a  man,  by 
rational,  ingenuous,  and  moral  motives ;  not  by  conviction  mathemati- 
cal ;  not  by  new  evidence  miraculous,  to  silence  every  doubt  and  whim, 
that  impiety  and  folly  can  suggest.  And  yet  all  this  would  have  no 
effect  upon  such  spirits  and  dispositions :  if  they  now  believe  not  Christ 
and  his  apostles,  neither  would  they  believe,  if  their  own  schemes  were 
complied  with." — Bentley's  Remarks  on  the  Discourse  on  Free 
Thinking,  pp.  65,  QQ.  71.  76.] 

Vol.  v.— 16 


184  BISHOP  Gibson's 

in  sense  or  doctrine,)  and  by  the  light  arising  from  the 
concurrence  of  many  copies  (such  especially  as  are  an- 
cient) in  one  and  the  same  reading,  by  which  we  are 
enabled  to  determine  the  true  reading  upon  a  sure  foun- 
dation. On  the  other  hand,  when  the  copies  are  few, 
the  errors  of  transcribers  in  many  cases  are  not  to  be 
set  right  upon  any  other  foundation  than  mere  conjec- 
ture. This  is  the  general  sense  of  learned  men,  as  being 
evidently  founded  upon  reason  and  experience ;  and  it 
appears  to  be  so,  from  the  great  endeavors  that  are  used 
by  all  such  as  undertake  to  give  correct  editions  of  an- 
cient authors,  to  procure  as  many  written  copies  as  they 
can ;  and  it  also  appears  to  be  true  in  fact,  that  where 
the  copies  were  few,  editions  have  been  very  faulty  and 
imperfect ;  where  many,  very  correct  and  accurate  ;  and 
in  both  cases  more  faulty  or  more  correct,  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  copies,  such  especially  as  are  of  great- 
est antiquity;  in  which  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  num- 
bers both  of  copies  and  translations,  the  New  Testament 
has  vastly  the  advantage  of  all  other  ancient  writings 
whatsoever. 

VI.  The  doctrines  of  the  apostles,  coiitaincd  in  their 
Epistles  and  in  the  Acts,  together  with  what  is  taught  by 
our  Saviour  in  the  gospels,  were  designed  to  be  a  stand- 
ing rule  of  faith  and  manners  to  Christians  in  all  ages, 
and  were  from  the  beginning  considered  and  received 
as  such  by  the  Churches  0/ Christ. 

That  those  writings  were  designed  to  be  a  standing 
and  perpetual  rule  of  faith  and  manners,  appears  from 
what  has  already  been  proved  ;  that  is,  from  the  instruc- 
tion, commission,  and  inspiration,  which  the  apostles 
received  from  Christ,  together  with  the  power  of 
working  miracles,  in  proof  of  their  commission  from 
him  :  and  all  this,  in  order  to  their  declaring  and  open- 
ing to  mankind  the  whole  Gospel  dispensation,  and 
every  part  of  it,  and  their  perpetuating  the  knowledge 
of  it  throughout  all  generations  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
These  were  full  and  sufficient  declarations  of  the  will 
of  Christ,  that  the  whole  dispensation  of  his  Gospel 
should  be  opened  by  them,  and  be  received  by  the  world 
as  coming  from  him,  who  had  thus  instructed  and  en- 
lightened them,   and  effectually  secured   them  against 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  185 

error  and  mistake,  and  commissioned  them  to  act  in  his 
name,  and  ratified  that  commission  by  miracles,  that  no 
doubt  might  remain  but  that  they  were  sent  by  him  on 
purpose  to  make  a  full  and  clear  discovery  of  that  dis- 
pensation to  the  world.  And  the  necessary  consequence 
of  this  is, — in  the  first  place,  that  whatever  they  deli- 
vered concerning  the  doctrines  and  duties  belonging  to 
that  dispensation,  was  to  be  received  by  all  Christians 
as  properly  coming  from  Christ  ; — and  then,  that  no 
other  persons  having  been  inspired  and  commissioned 
to  publish  the  will  of  Christ,  but,  the  apostles  only, 
what  they  published  was  the  whole  of  what  he  intended 
to  be  published.  The  contrary  suppositions  plainly 
carry  in  them  some  one  or  more  of  these  absurdities, — 
that  Christ  granted  a  commission,  without  full  instruc- 
tions, for  the  discharge  of  it, — that  persons  who  acted 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost  did  not  discharge 
it  faithfully, — and  that  all  the  while  he  was  confirming 
their  doctrine  by  miracles,  he  left  them  liable  to  error. 
The  inference  frotn  all  which  would  be,  that  he  came 
down  from  heaven  to  establish  a  new  religion,  and 
empowered  special  messengers  to  publish  it  to  the 
world,  but  yet  left  mankind  to  the  end  of  the  world 
under  an  uncertainty  what  his  religion  was. 

The  apostles,  to  give  their  writings  the  authority 
which  justly  belonged  to  them,  generally  declare  them- 
selves in  the  beginning  of  their  epistles  to  be  the 
^apostles  and  servants  of  Jesus  Christ,'  that  is,  per- 
sons sent  by  him,  and  specially  employed  in  his  service; 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  epistles,  to  the  same  effect,  the 
"ambassadors,"  the  "stewards,"  and  the  "ministers" 
of  Christ — all  which  expressions  imply,  that  they  were 
the  persons  he  had  appointed  to  convey  his  will  to  man- 
kind, and  to  dispense  to  them  the  great  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  which  till  then  were  unknown  to  the  world. 
"Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  as  of  the  ministers  of 
Christ  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God."^ — 
"  By  whom  we  have  received  grace  and  apostleship, 
for  obedience  to  the  faith  among  all  nations  for  his 
name."'*     And  the  same  apostle,  speaking  particularly 


«  1  Cor.  iv.  1.        h  Rom.  i.  5. 


186  BISHOP  Gibson's 

of  the  redemption  wrought  for  us  by  Christ,  and  our 
reconciliation  to  God  by  his  death,  adds,  "and  hath 
given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconcihation,  to  wit,  that 
God  was  in  Christ  reconcihng  the  world  unto  himself, 
not  imputing  their  former  trespasses  unto  them,  and 
hath  committed  unto  us  the  word  of  reconciliation ; 
now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though 
God  did  beseech  you  by  us.^^'  And  elsewhere,  upon  the 
same  subject:  "There  is  one  God  and  one  mediator 
between  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  who 
gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in  due  time  : 
whereunto  1  am  ordained  a  preacher  and  an  apostle, 
a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles  in  faith  and  verity."'^  And 
again:  "the  minister  o/ Jesus  Christ  to  the  Gentiles, 
ministering  the  Gospel  of  God  ;"'  and,  "  I  am  made  a 
minister  of  Christ  according  to  the  dispensation  o/God 
which  is  given  to  me,  to  fulfil  (i.  e.  fully  to  preach)  the 
word  of  God."'" 

Next,  as  to  the  doctrines  delivered,  they  are  spoken 
of  as  the  commandments  of  God  and  of  Christ  : — 
"  The  things  that  I  write  unto  you  are  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord;""  and  the  GospeJ  preached  was 
"the  Gospel  of  Christ,"°  and  the  Gospel  of  God  ;"r' 
"  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God,  which,  says 
St.  Paul,  "  was  committed  to  my  trust.^^"^  And  the  same 
St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Thessalonians,  says,  "  When  ye 
received  the  word  of  God,  which  ye  heard  of  us,  ye 
received  it  not  as  the  word  of  men,  but  {as  it  is  in  truth) 
the  word  of  God."'^  But  when,  upon  a  particular  occa- 
sion, he  delivered  only  his  own  private  sentiments,  he 
expressly  tells  the  Corinthians,  "  I  have  no  command- 
ment from  the  Lord,  yet  I  give  my  judgment.'' 


"3 


Next,  as  the  guidance  and  direction  under  which 
their  doctrine  was  delivered,  it  has  been  already  ob- 
served,' that  after  the  apostles  had  received  their  com- 
mission to  declare  and  publish  the  Gospel  to  all  nations, 
they  also  received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 


i  2  Cor.  V.  18,  19,  20.  ^  1  Tim.  ii.  5,  6,  7.  i  Rom.  xv.  16. 

""  Col.  i.  25.  "  1  Cor.  xiv.  87.  °  2  Cor.  ii.  12.     1  Thes.  iii.  2. 

p  Rom.  XV.  16.     2  Cor.  xi.  7.     1  Thes.  ii.  2.  8,  9.         "1  Tim.  i.  11. 
'  1  Thes.  ii.  13.        =1  Cor.  ^'ii.  25.  40.         '  Page  143. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  187 

should  ^^  teach  them  all  things^  ?ind  bring  eM  things  to 
their  remembrance,  whatsoever  Christ  had  said  unto 
them,""  and  being  "the  Spirit  of  truth,"  should  ''guide 
them  into  all  truth.''''''  And  so  it  is  affirmed  by  St.  Peter 
of  them  all,  that  they  "preached  the  Gospel  with  (or  by) 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven;"^  and  it  is 
said  of  the  particular  doctrine  of  the  Gentiles  being 
fellow-heirs  with  the  Jews,  that  it  was  ''revealed  to 
the  holy  apostles  and  prophets  (in  general)  hy  the 
Spirit.'^^  It  has  also  been  before  observed,  particularly 
of  St.  Paul,y  that  he  received  his  doctrine  by  immediate 
revelation;  and  though  he  was  not  of  the  number  of  those 
upon  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  at  the  feast 
of  Pentecost,  he  declares  in  many  places  of  his  epistles 
that  he  acted  under  the  guidance  of  the  same  Spirit : — 
"  We  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery — the 
things  which  God  hath  revealed  to  us  by  his  Spirit."^ 
"We  have  the  mind  a/ Christ."'' — "He  therefore  that 
despiseth,  despiseth  not  man,  but  God,  who  hath  also 
given  unto  us  his  Holy  Spirit."*' — We  have  received, 
not  the  Spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of 
God,  that  we  may  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given 
us  of  God  ;  which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the 
words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  teacheth.'^"  He  tells  the  Corinthians,  that 
he  will  give  them  a  "  proof  of  Christ  speaking  in 
him;^^^  and  describing  the  order  in  which  the  dead  are 
to  rise  again  (viz.  those  who  are  dead,  and  those  who 
shall  be  found  alive  at  the  general  resurrection)  he 
declares,  "this  we  say  unto  you  hy  the  word  of  the 
Lord."*  And  St.  Peter  affirms,  that  what  St.  Paul  had 
written  to  the  Christians,  was  "  according  to  the  wisdom 
given  unto  him  ;"f  and  in  the  same  place  he  sets  St. 
Paul's  epistles  upon  the  same  foot  with  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  Testament,  which  the  Jewish  converts,  to 
whom  St.  Peter  was  writing,  did  most  firmly  believe  to 
be  inspired. 

If  it  be  said  that  these  are  the  testimonies  of  persons 
concerning  themselves,  it  is  again  to  be  remembered, 

"  John  xiv.  26.         t  John  xvi.  13.       w  1  Pet.  i.  12.         ^  Ephes. 
iii.  5.  y  Page  148.  ^  1  Cor.  ii.  7. 9,  10.  »  1  Cor.  ii.  16. 

b  1  Thes.  iv.  8.      °  1  Cor.  ii.  13,  13.      i  2  Cor.  xiii.  3.      •  1  Thess, 
iv.  15.        i  3  Pet.  iii.  15. 
16* 


186 

that  the  writers  of  the  epistles  are  the  same  persons 
whom  the  gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  testify  to 
have  been  specially  commissioned  by  Christ,  and  to 
have  received  from  him  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  to  have  wrought  many  and  great  miracles  in  his 
name;  and  all  this  on  purpose  to  qualify  them  for  pub- 
lishing his  Gospel  to  the  world,  and  to  put  it  out  of  all  doubt 
that  they  were  ministers  and  ambassadors  sent  by  him, 
and  that  therefore  entire  credit  might  be  given  to  what- 
ever they  delivered  in  his  name,  and  their  doctrine  be 
received  by  all  Christians  as  a  true  and  full  account  of 
the  Gospel  dispensation,  or,  in  other  words,  as  a  divine 
rule  of  faith  and  manners. 

Accordingly,  the  Christians  of  the  most  early  ages, 
declared  and  asserted  in  the  clearest  manner,  that  the 
writings  of  the  apostles  were  divinely  inspired,  and  that, 
as  such,  they  became  of  course  a  rule  to  all  Christians. 
Clement,  a  fellow  laborer  of  St.  Paul,  writes  thus  to 
the  Corinthians:  "The  apostles  delivered  the  Gospel 
to  us  from  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  Jesus  Christ 
from  God.  "Wherefore  Christ  was  sent  by  God,  and 
the  apostles  by  Christ.  Having  therefore  received 
their  instructions,  and  being  confirmed  in  the  faith  by 
the  word  of  God  and  the  fulness  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
they  went  forth  preaching  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was 
at  hand."  And  he  bids  them  '  consider  the  epistle  of 
the  blessed  apostle  Paul,  which  was  assuredly  sent  to 
them  by  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit. '=  Polycarp,  the 
disciple  of  St.  John,  says  to  the  Philippians  concerning 
St.  Paul,  "being  present,  he  taught  you  the  word  of 
truth  with  all  exactness  and  soundness ;  and  being  ab- 
sent, wrote  an  epistle  to  you,  which  if  you  look  into, 
you  may  be  built  up  in  the  faith  that  was  delivered  to 
you."*^  Theophilus  of  Antioch,  in  the  second  cen- 
tury, calls  the  evangelists  'the  bearers  of  the  Spirit.' 
and  says  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  that  they  '  spoke 
by  one  and  the  same  Spirit.''  Iren^us,  in  the  same 
century,  says,  that  'the  Scriptures  were  dictated  by  the 
Word  of  God  and  his  Spirit  ;'*'  and,  that  '  one  and  the 
same  Spirit  preached  in  the  prophets,  and  published  in 

«  Clem.  Rom.  Ep.  ad  Corinth,  cap.  42.  47.  h  Polycarp.  Ep. 

ad  Philip,  cap.  3.  i  Theoph.  ad  Autolyc.  Lib.  III.  k  Ire.v. 

Lib.  II.  c.  xlvii. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  189 

the  apostles.'i  And  he  has  one  whole  chapter,'"  to  show 
that  the  other  apostles  as  well  as  Paul,  had  their  know- 
ledge hy  revelation  from  God.  He  particularly  blames 
those  as  impious,  who  presumed  to  say,  that  the  apostles 
preached,  before  they  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  what 
they  were  to  preach:  for,  says  he,  "after  onr  Lord  was 
risen  from  the  dead,  and  they  were  endued  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  with  power  from  on  high,  they  were  filled 
with  all  truths,  and  had  perfect  knowledge,  and  then 
went  forth  into  the  ends  of  the  world,  publishing  the 
good  things  which  God  hath  provided  for  us,  and 
preaching  peace  from  Heaven  unto  men.""  Justin 
Martyr,  in  the  same  century,  speaks  of  the  Scriptures 
as  writings  "full  of  the  Holy  Ghost. "°  In  the  next 
century,  Clemens  Alexandrinus  says,  "The  apostles 
might  well  be  called  prophets,  one  and  the  same  Holy 
Spirit  working  in  both  ;"p  and  speaking  of  the  pro- 
phets and  apostles  jointly,  he  says  "  they  had  the  mind 
of  the  prophetic  and  instructing  Spirit  secretly  revealed 
to  them;"*!  and  he  calls  the  apostles,  in  particular, 
"  disciples  of  the  Spirit."  Origen  mentions  the  gos- 
pels, as  acknowledged  to  be  of  divine  authority  by  all 
Churches;  and  speaking  of  the  inspiration  of  the  pro- 
phets, says,  that  "the  same  God  inspired  the  evangelists 
and  apostles  ;"  and  he  mentions  those  sacred  books,  as 
"not  of  men,  but  from  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  by  the  will  of  the  Father,  through  Jesus 
Christ  ;"  and  says,  "There  is  nothing  in  the  prophets, 
or  the  law,  or  the  gospels,  or  the  apostles  (by  which  last 
is  meant  the  epistles)  that  is  not  from  the  fulness  of 
God;"  and,  that  ^' there  is  an  entire  harmony  and  agree- 
ment between  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  between 
the  law  and  the  prophets,  between  the  evangelical  and 
apostolical  writings,  and  between  the  apostohcal  writings 
with  relation  to  one  another:"  and  both  he  and  others 
frequently  style  those  writings  'the  oracles  of  God,' 
and  '  the  voice  of  God.'"^ 


1  Iren.  Lib.  III.  c.  XXV.        ™  Irex.  Lib.  UI.  c.  xiii.       "  Iren.  Lib. 
III.  c.  i.  °  Just.  Mart.  Dial,  cum  Tnjpho.  p  Clfm.  Alex. 

Strom.  Lib.  V.  «>  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  Lib.  V.  '  Orig.  in  Johan. 
p.  4,  5.  Philocal.  p.  7.  11.  21.  30.— [For  other  full  testimony  to  the 
same  effect,  see  Paley's  Evidences,  Part  I.  Prop.  I.  chap.  ix.  sect.  3.] 


190  BISHOP  Gibson's 

What  has  been  ah'eady  said,  and  repeated,  concern- 
ing the  commission  which  the  apostles  received  from 
Christ  for  publishing  his  Gospel  to  the  world,  and  his 
enduing  them  for  that  end  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
with  the  power  of  working  miracles,  abundantly  shows 
that  whatever  they  delivered  concerning  the  nature  of 
that  institution,  and  the  doctrines  and  duties  properly 
belonging  to  it,  was  intended  by  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles to  be  a  fixed  and  perpetual  rule  to  the  Christian 
Church.  And  as  they  intended  it,  so  the  first  Christians 
understood  and  received  it.  The  gospels  were  read  in 
their  assemblies,  as  part  of  their  public  worship ;'  the 
exhortations  of  the  ministers  delivered  in  the  same  as- 
semblies were  founded  upon  the  portions  which  had  been 
read  out  of  those  gospels; — they  began  early  to  write 
commentaries  upon  the' books  of  the  New  Testament, 
as  upon  a  sacred  text ; — and  controversies  were  finally 
determined  by  what  should  appear  upon  examination  to 
be  the  true  meaning  and  tenor  of  those  books.  Upon 
this  foundation  it  is,  that  Iren^us  attests  the  truth  of 
his  own  doctrine  against  one  of  the  heretics  of  that 
time.  "  Let  him,"  says  he,  "  examine  what  I  have 
written,  and  he  will  find  it  consonant  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  apostles^  and  exactly  agreeable  to  what  they 
taught."'  The  same  ancient  Avriter  speaks  of  what  the 
apostles  taught,  as  '  the  rule  of  truth  ;'  and  calls  the 
gospels  '  the  pillar  and  foundation  of  the  Church  ;'  and 
says  of  the  apostles,  that  'the  Church  throughout  the 
world  grounding  themselves  upon  their  doctrine,  per- 
severed in  the  self-same  sentiments  concerning  God 
and  his  Son :"' — and  "  We  have  not  known  the  me- 
thods of  our  salvation  from  any  others,  than  those  by 
whom  the  Gospel  came  to  us,  which  the  apostles 
preached,  and  afterwards,  by  the  will  of  God,  delivered 
down  to  us  in  writing,  to  be  the  foundation  and  pillar 
of  our  faith. ^^"^  He  charges  the  heretics  with  perverting 
both  the  evangelical  and  apostolical  writings  to  such 
senses  as  might  favor  their  own  doctrines,  and  with 
afllrming  the  things  which  neither  the  prophets  preached, 
nor  Christ  taught,  nor  the  apostles  delivered  ;  and  that, 


'  Just.  Mart.  Apol.  II.  «  Iren.  Lib.  III.  c.  xii.         '  Iren.  Lib. 

in.  c.  xi.  xii.        "  Iren.  Lib.  IIL  c.  i. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  191 

while  they  went  beyond  the  Scriptures,  they  destroyed 
the  hounds  of  truth.^  And  so  Tertullian  ;  "  Take 
away  from  heretics  their  pagan  doctrines,  and  let  them 
refer  their  questions  to  the  decision  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  they  will  not  be  able  to  stand." ^'^  And  elsewhere 
he  censures  those  as  weak,  who  think  they  can  discourse 
of  matters  of  faith  otherwise  than  from  the  books  con- 
taining that  faith.^  To  the  same  purpose,  Clemens 
Alexandrinus  says,  "  Let  us  not  content  ourselves 
with  the  testimonies  of  men,  but  let  us  confirm  that 
which  comes  in  question  by  the  word  of  God,  which  is 
to  be  credited  beyond  all  demonstrations,  or  rather  is 
itself  the  only  demonstration. "y 

Whether  therefore  we  consider  what  the  commission 
was  which  the  apostles  received  from  Christ,  or  what 
the  gifts  and  powers  by  which  they  were  enabled  to 
discharge  it;  what  they  declared  concerning  their  au- 
thority and  the  doctrine  they  delivered ;  or  what  the 
first  Christians  believed  and  declared  concerning  them : 
in  all  and  every  of  these  views,  we  see  the  clearest  evi- 
dence that  the  matters  and  doctrines  contained  in  the 
New  Testament,  as  coming  from  persons  who  were 
commissioned  and  inspired  by  Christ  to  publish  his 
religion  to  the  world,  were  designed  to  be  a  fixed  and 
perpetual  rule  to  Christians  in  all  future  ages.  And 
they  were  in  fact  received  under  that  character  by  the 
first  Christians  ;  and  after  the  increase  of  the  Gospel,  by 
particular  Churches,  gradually,  as  these  Churches  came 
to  a  certain  knowledge  of  the  several  books  being  writ- 
ten by  persons  divinely  inspired;  and  in  process  of  time 
by  the  whole  Christian  Church,  upon  a  full  and  general 
conviction  that  they  were  the  writings  of  such  persons, 
and  that  there  was  no  just  or  reasonable  ground  of 
doubt,  either  about  the  books  or  the  writers  of  them. 
And  as  I  observed  before,  the  slowness  and  caution  of 
particular  Churches  in  giving  assent,  is  one  good  argu- 
ment that  they  were  faithful  and  impartial  witnesses. — 
So  unjust  have  been  the  suggestions  of  some,  who  yet 
bore  no  ill  will  to  Christianity,  that  all  the  books  of  the 


▼  "Membra  Veritatis," — Adv.  Hcer.  Lib.  I.  c.  vii.  xv.  -w  Ter- 

TULL.  de  Resurrect,  c.  iii.  ^  Tertull.    de  Prccscrip.  c.  xv. 

y  Clem.  Alex,  Strom.  L.  VII. 


192  BISHOP  Gibson's 

New  Testament  became  authentic  at  once,  by  a  solemn 
act  of  the  Church,  and  that  it  was  the  authority  of  the 
Church  that  made  them  a  rule  or  canon  to  all  Chris- 
tians !  On  the  contrary,  particular  books  were  received 
by  particular  Churches,  sooner  or  later,  according  to 
the  time  of  writing,  and  according  to  the  different  oppor- 
tunities they  had  of  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  them, 
by  reason  of  the  different  distance  of  cities  and  coun- 
tries from  one  another,  and  the  different  degrees  of  cor- 
respondence among  them.  The  rule  which  determined 
them  to  admit  the  particular  books,  was  the  assurance 
they  had,  that  they  were  written  by  persons  divinely  in- 
spired;  and  upon  this  (when  it  became  clear  to  them- 
upon  due  inquiry  and  examination,)  they  grounded  the 
atithority  of  each  book.  From  henceforth,  writers  cited 
the  books  in  confirmation  of  the  doctrines  and  duties  of 
Christianity,  and  the  people  considered  them  as  a  divine 
rule  of  faith  and  manners  ;  both  which  we  see  as  early 
as  we  have  any  of  their  writings.  And  when,  by  de- 
grees, every  particular  Church  was  satisfied  that  all  the 
hooks  were  written  by  persons  divinely  inspired,  they 
publicly  declared  their  satisfaction,  in  councils  occa- 
sionally assembled  to  regulate  the  general  afiairs  of  the 
Church.  The  books  were  not  therefore  authentic,  be- 
cause those  declarations  were  made,  but  the  declarations 
were  therefore  made,  because  the  books  were  authentic; 
the  Church  being  considered  only  as  a  witness  that  they 
were  written  by  the  persons  whose  names  they  bear, 
and  to  whom  they  are  ascribed,  and  from  whose  inspi- 
ration they  derive  their  authority. 

I  am  well  aware,  that  in  later  ages  there  have  arisen 
men  who  would  confine  the  Christian  rule  or  canon  to 
the  writings  of  the  evangelists,  and  the  Christian  faith 
to  the  single  article  of  believing  Jesus  to  be  the  Mes- 
siah; this  seeming  to  have  been  sufficient  at  first  to 
gain  admittance  into  the  Christian  Church,  and  the 
truth  of  that  proposition  being  abundantly  attested  by 
the  four  gospels.  But  it  was  not  rightly  considered 
by  those  men,  how  extensive  that  article  was,  and  how 
many  more  it  included  in  it;  the  assent  to  it  being,  in 
effect,  an  acknowledgment  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of 
God,  and  the  baptism  received  in  virtue  of  that  assent, 
an  embracing  of  the  doctrine  of  Father,   Son,  and 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  193 

Holy  Ghost  ;  and  both  the  assent  and  the  baptism,  a 
general  profession  of  taking  Christ  for  their  Master ; 
and  that  profession  a  general  engagement  to  conform 
to  all  the  doctrines  and  rules  which  he  should  deliver, 
either  by  himself  or  by  persons  whom  he  should  com- 
mission, to  make  further  declarations  of  his  will.  So 
that  the  admission  into  the  Church  by  baptism,  upon 
the  belief  of  that  single  article,  was  properly  the  admit- 
ting persons  into  the  school  0/ Christianity,  to  he  fur- 
ther ^instructed '  and  '  huilt  up''  in  the  faith  of  Christ  ; 
and  to  consider  such  admission  in  any  other  light,  is  just 
as  if  one  should  argue  that  a  child  is  a  complete  man, 
because  he  has  all  the  parts  of  a  man,  and  will,  by  due 
nourishment  and  instruction,  grow  up  gradually  to  the 
stature  and  knowledge  of  a  perfect  man.  This  is  the 
light  in  which  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  considered  it. 
St.  Peter,  writing  to  the  Christians  dispersed  in  several 
parts  of  the  world,  directs  them  "  as  new  horn  babes  (as 
those  who  were  yet  tender  and  young  in  the  Christian 
faith)  to  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  they 
may  grow  thereby."^  And  St.  Paul  tells  the  Christians 
at  Corinth,  to  whom  he  *  spake  as  unto  babes  in  Christ,' 
"I  have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat;  for 
hitherto  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it.^'''^  And  when  he 
reproves  the  Hebrews  for  their  slow  progress  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Christian  faith,  he  tells  them,  "When 
for  the  time  ye  ought  to  be  teachers,  ye  have  need  that 
one  teach  you  again,  which  he  the  first  principles  of  the 
oracles  of  God,  and  are  become  such  as  have  need  of 
milk,  and  not  of  strong  meat ;  for  every  one  that  useth 
milk,  is  unskilful  in  the  word  of  righteousness,  for  he 
is  a  babe.  But  strong  meat  belongeth  to  them  that  are 
of  full  age,  even  those  who  by  reason  of  use  (in  the 
margin,  it  is  habit  or  perfection)  have  their  senses  ex- 
ercised to  discern  both  good  and  evil.'"'  From  whence 
he  immediately  infers,  "  Therefore,  leaving  the  princi- 
ples  (or  first  rudiments)  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  let 
us  go  on  unto  perfection,,  not  laying  again  the  founda- 
tion of  repentance  from  dead  works,  and  of  faith  towards 
God  ;  of  the  doctrine  of  baptisms,  and  of  laying  on  of 


1  Pet.  ii.  2.        *  1  Cor.  iii.  1,  2.        b  Heb.  v.  12,  13,  14. 


194  BISHOP  Gibson's 

hands,  and  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  of  eternal 
judgment."*: 

A  late  ingenious  writer*!  who  has  traced  out  the  seve- 
ral steps  taken  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  in  the  first 
promulgation  of  the  Gospel,  had  a  true  notion  of  this^ 
and  calls  the  proposition,  '  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,' 
the  first  entrance  and  initiation  into  the  Christian  faith  ; 
and  adds,  that  "m  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,  the 
apostles  explained  the  heads  of  the  Christian  faith 
more  fully  and  openly,  to  the  end  that  at  length  by 
their  preaching  and  ministry  the  whole  will  and  counsel 
of  God  might  be  manifested;  that  is,  all  things  which 
ought  to  be  believed  and  done  to  obtain  eternal  life." 
And,  speaking  of  the  inspiration  of  the  apostles,*  he 
says,  '  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given  them,  not  only  to 
bring  to  their  remembrance  whatever  they  had  heard 
from  Christ,  but  also,  to  add  all  such  things  as  were 
necessary  to  fill  up  and  complete  the  Christian  doc- 
trine.' He  says  further,  that  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles we  have  the  first  lineaments  of  a  rising  Church,  and 
as  it  were  the  ground-work  of  the  Christian  faith  ;f  and 
afterwards,  where  he  describes  the  gradual  opening  of 
the  Gospel,^  he  takes  notice,  that  the  apostles,  "  to 
whom  was  committed  the  expounding  of  that  new  re- 
velation," delivered  some  doctrines  sooner,  and  some 
later  ;  and  compares  the  growth  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation to  that  of  a  flower,  which  opens  itself  gradu- 
ally; and  adds,  that  some  of  the  mysteries  belonging  to 


=  Heb.  vi.  1,  2. 

^  Dr.  Burnet,  late  master  of  the  Charter-House,  in  his  book  Dc 
Fide  cj"'  OJlciis,  p.  117. — [Dr.  Thomas  Burnet  is  perhaps  better 
known  as  the  author  of  the  ingenious  Theory  of  the  Earth,  first  pub- 
lished in  elegant  Latin  in  1680,  and  afterwards  translated  by  the 
author  into  Eiighsh :  one  of  the  earhest  and  most  famous  among  the 
multitude  of  systems  of  cosmogony.  Dr.  Burnet  was  a  pupil  of  TiL- 
LOTSON.  During  the  reign  of  James  II.  he  distinguished  himself  by 
opposition  to  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  that  monarch.  The  treatise 
cited  by  Bishop  Gibson  was  not  published  until  after  the  author's 
death,  which  took  place  in  1715,  at  the  advanced  age  of  80.  The 
work,  although  in  many  respects  valuable,  is  by  no  means  unexcep- 
tionable in  point  of  doctrine.  Another  by  the  same  writer,  jnd  pub- 
lished about  the  same  time,  De  Statu  Mortuorum  et  Resi.irgc;Uiu\. 
is  even  more  objectionable.] 

«  Page  120.         f  Page  121.         s  Page  138. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  195 

it,  were  more  seasonably  delivered  '  after  the  first  seeds 
had  taken  root."' 

An  ingenious  person,  who  at  his  first  transition  from 
inquiries  merely  rational  to  those  of  revelation,  set  him- 
self to  reduce  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity 
to  the  narrowest  compass  he  possibly  could,  seems  not 
to  have  considered  enough  this  gradual  opening  of  the 
Gospel  dispensation,  when  he  made  that  one  article, 
*  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,'  the  belief  of  which  was  no 
more  than  the  first  entrance  into  the  Christian  faith,  to 
be  the  whole  of  it — if  he  meant  it  in  any  other  sense  than 
as  it  carried  in  it  a  general  acknowledgment,  that  they 
who  made  that  profession  did  thereby  receive  Christ 
for  their  master,  and  were  ready  to  embrace  whatever 
doctrines  or  precepts  should  come  from  him,  with  a 
sincere  disposition  to  be  instructed  in  them.  And,  in 
truth,  that  he  meant  it  in  this  extent,  and  designed  no 
more  than  a  speculative  inquiry  about  the  nature  of 
fundamentals,  seems  plain  from  what  he  adds,  that  "as 
for  the  rest  of  divine  truths,  there  is  nothing  more  re- 
quired of  a  Christian,  but  that  he  receive  all  the  parts 
of  divine  revelation  with  a  docility  and  disposition  pre- 
pared to  embrace  and  assent  to  all  truths  coming  from 
God  ;  and  submit  his  mind  to  whatsoever  shall  appear 
to  him  to  bear  that  character."'  This  was  all  that 
could  be  required  of  the  first  converts  to  Christianity, 
to  whom  the  Gospel  dispensation  was  not  yet  opened  ; 
but  it  follows  not  from  thence,  that  no  more  was  neces- 
sary to  be  believed  by  Christians,  after  that  dispensa- 
tion was  fully  opened  :  on  the  contrary,  it  follows,  that 
an  actual  belief  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  after 
a  full  declaration  made  of  them,  was  as  necessary  to 
make  men  Christians,  as  a  readiness  and  disposition 
to  receive  them  was  before ;  and  the  way  by  which 
both  approved  themselves  to  be  true  and  sincere  Chris- 
tians, was  an  honest  disposition  to  embrace  all  the  light 
that  was  afforded  them,  whether  by  Christ  himself,  or 
by  those  whom  he  inspired  and  commissioned  for  the 
opening  and  publishing  his  Gospel  to  the  world.  And 
therefore  the  same  author,  speaking  of  the  apostles,  and 


h  Burnet  de  Fide  et  OJlciis,  page  139.         i  Mr.  Locke's  Reason' 
ableness  of  Christianity,  page  300. 

Vol.  v.— 17 


196  BISHOP  Gibson's 

their  writings,>f  says,  "  these  holy  writers,  inspired  from 
above,  writ  nothing  but  truth,  and  in  most  places  very 
weighty  truths  to  us  now,  for  the  expounding,  clearing, 
and  confirming  of  the  Christian  doctrine."  And  in  his 
later  years,  when  he  had  more  maturely  considered  the 
frame  and  tenor  of  the  Gospel  dispensation,  he  calls  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament,  without  distinction, 
'  Holy  Scripture,'  '  Holy  Writings,'  the  *  Sacred  Text,' 
*  Writings  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;'^  and  says  of 
the  writings  of  the  apostles,  that  "  the  doctrines  con- 
tained in  them  tend  wholly  to  the  setting  up  the  king- 
dom of  Jestts  Christ  in  this  world."™  Particularly  of 
St.  Paul  and  his  epistles,  upon  several  of  which  he 
wrote  a  very  useful  and  elaborate  commentary  during 
his  retirement  in  his  last  years,  he  says,  that  as  to  this 
apostle,  "he  had  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  from 
God  by  immediate  revelation ;  that  for  his  information 
in  the  Christian  knowledge,  and  the  mysteries  and 
depths  of  the  dispensation  of  God  by  Jesus  Christ, 
God  himself  had  condescended  to  be  his  instructer  and 
teacher ;  and  that  he  had  received  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
from  the  Fountain  and  Father  of  light  Himself;""  and 
as  to  his  epistles,  that  "they  were  dictated  by  the  spirit 
of  GoD."°  In  his  preface  to  the  commentary  upon, 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  after  having  enumerated 
some  of  the  particulars  in  which  that  epistle  opens  the 
Gospel  dispensation  to  mankind,  he  adds,  "  these  are 
but  some  of  the  more  general  and  more  comprehensive 
heads  of  the  Christian  doctrine  to  be  found  in  this  epis- 
tle. The  design  of  a  synopsis  will  not  permit  me  to 
descend  more  minutely  to  particulars ;  but  this  let  me 
say,  that  he  that  would  have  an  enlarged  view  of  true 
Christianity,  would  do  well  to  study  this  epistle."  To 
induce  men  to  the  study  of  the  New  Testament  in 
general,  he  says,  "  the  only  way  to  be  preserved  from 
error,  is  to  betake  ourselves  in  earnest  to  the  study  of 
the  way  to  salvation,  in  those  holy  writings  wherein 
God  has  revealed  it  from  heaven,  and  proposed  it  to 
the  world  ;  seeking  our  religion  where  we  are  sure  it  is 
in  truth  to  be  found."?     And,  in  a  letter  written  the 


^  Page  297.        J  Preface  to  his  Commentary.       "'  Ibid,  page  22. 
Ibid,  page  16.        «  Ibid,  page  17.        p  Und.  page  24. 


THIRD    PASTORAL    LETTER.  197 

year  before  his  death,  to  one  who  had  asked  him  this 
question,  What  is  the  shortest  way  to  attain  to  a  true 
knowledge  of  the  Christian  religion  in  the  full  and  just 
extent  of  it  ?  his  answer  is,  "  Study  the  Holy  Scripture, 
especially  the  New  Testament;  therein  are  contained 
the  words  of  eternal  life.  It  has  God  for  its  author, 
salvation  for  its  end,  and  truth  without  any  mixture  of 
error  for  its  matter.''^  And  of  St.  Paul's  epistles, 
which  he  was  more  particularly  led  to  speak  of  in  the 
preface  to  his  'Commentary,'  he  says,  that  the  studying 
and  understanding  them  aright,  will  make  those  who 
do  it  to  "  rejoice  in  the  light  they  receive  from  those 
most  useful  parts  of  divine  revelation." 

This  writer  also  furnishes  us  with  an  answer  to  the 
objection  usually  made  by  infidels  and  skeptics,  that 
if  the  epistles  were  written  upon  particular  occa- 
sions only,  they  would  not  have  been  written  at  all  if 
those  occasions  had  not  happened,  and  that  therefore 
the  Christian  faith  was  completely  delivered  before,  in 
the  gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. — "The  provi- 
dence of  God,""-  says  he,  "hath  so  ordered  it,  that  St. 
Paul  has  writ  a  great  number  of  epistles  (and  the  same 
is  true  of  those  that  were  written  by  other  apostles) 
which  though  upon  different  occasions,  and  to  several 
purposes,  yet  are  all  confined  within  the  business  of 
his  apostleship,  and  so  contain  nothing  but  points  of 
Christian  instruction ;  amongst  which,  he  seldom  fails 
to  drop  in  and  often  to  enlarge  upon  the  great  and 
distinguishing  doctrines  of  our  holy  religion."  If  the 
writing  of  the  epistles  was  ordered  by  the  providence  of 
God,  the  same  providence  certainly  intended  that  they 
should  be  a  rule  and  direction  to  the  Christian  Church; 
and  if  the  providence  of  God  had  not  so  ordered  it, 
that  the  epistles  should  be  written,  the  same  providence 
would  have  found  out  some  other  way  to  open  and  ex- 
plain the  Christian  revelation  in  the  manner  they  have 
done.  The  question  therefore  is  not,  what  the  state  of 
things  would  have  been  if  the  epistles  had  not  been 
written  (which  no  mortal  can  tell,)  but  the  only  ques- 
tion is,  how  the  matter  stands,  now  they  are  written, 
and  whether  we  are  at  liberty  to  consider  them  other- 

«  Posthumous  WorkSf  page  344.    '  Preface  to  Comment,  page  21. 


198 

wise  than  as  openings  and  explanations  of  the  Christian 
doctrine,  when  they  come  from  persons  divinely  inspir- 
ed, and  commissioned  by  Christ  to  publish  his  Gospel 
to  the  world ;  in  virtue  of  which  (as  the  other  writer 
before  mentioned  has  truly  said)  they  were  enabled  . 
and  empowered  "  to  add  all  such  things  as  were  neces- 
sary to  fill  up  and  complete  the  Christian  doctrine."' 

Whatever  therefore  we  find  in  the  writings  of  the 
apostles  that  concerns  the  doctrine  and  economy  of  the 
Christian  dispensation,  whether  it  be  further  explana- 
tions of  what  is  more  generally  delivered  in  the  gospels 
and  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  or  additions  to  them  ;  it  is 
what  we  are  empowered  by  Christ  and  enabled  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  deliver  to  the  world,  and  so  became  a 
rule  of  faith  and  practice  to  Christians  to  the  end  of 
the  world.  Such  are  these  that  follow : — the  misery 
brought  upon  mankind  by  the  fall  of  Adam,  and  the 
deliverance  out  of  that  misery  as  wrought  for  us  by 
Christ  ; — the  insufficiency  of  the  Mosaical  law  for  ob- 
taining salvation: — the  typical  nature  of  the  ceremonial 
law  as  prefiguring  Christ,  the  end  of  that  law  and  our 
great  sacrifice,  high  priest  and  lawgiver  ; — the  outward 
performances  of  the  ceremonial  law,  represented  as 
emblems  of  inward  purity  : — the  excellency  of  the  sacri- 
fice, ministry,  and  laws  of  Christ,  beyond  those  of 
the  Mosaical  dispensation  : — the  efficacy  of  the  death  of 
Christ  and  of  the  whole  Gospel  dispensation,  for 
obtaining  pardon  of  sin,  reconciliation  to  God,  and 
eternal  life  : — the  union  of  the  divine  and  human  nature 
in  Christ  : — the  necessity  of  his  incarnation,  to  be  first 
a  teacher  and  example,  and  after  that  to  be  capable  of 
dying ;  of  his  death,  to  take  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice 
of  himself;  of  his  resurrection,  to  prove  his  conquest 
over  death,  and  to  be  an  earnest  of  our  rising  from  the 
dead ;  and  of  his  ascension,  to  be  vested  with  all 
power  in  heaven  and  earth,  and  to  be  our  mediator, 
advocate  and  intercessor  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father : 
— the  universality  and  sufficiency  of  the  grace  promised 
in  the  Gospel,  decreed  by  God  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  and  revealed  in  due  time  in  the  Gospel,  for 
the  salvation  of  all  true  believers : — the  right  of  Gen-- 

•  Burnet  de  Fide,  &c.  p.  120. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  199 

tiles  as  well  as  Jews,  to  be  partakers  of  the  mercies  and 
benefits  of  the  Gospel  covenant,  in  Christ  : — the  justice 
of  God  in  rejecting  the  unbelieving  Jews  and  calling  the 
Gentiles  ; — the  necessity  of  faith  in  him,  in  order  to  our 
justification  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  the  impossibility  of 
obtaining  salvation  in  any  other  way  than  through  the 
atonement  made  by  him  : — the  efiicacy  of  faith,  and  the 
necessity  of  good  works,  as  the  genuine  fruits  of  a  true 
and  lively  faith  : — the  sanctification  of  our  nature  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  : — the  ordinary  operations  and  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  the  obligation  to  love,  peace, 
meekness,  gentleness,  and  mutual  forbearance,  as  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit  : — the  power  and  vigilance  of  our 
enemy  the  devil  and  his  wicked  spirits  ;  and  the  great 
sinfulness  of  envy,  detraction,  malice,  hatred,  and  re- 
venge, as  properly  the  works  of  the  devil : — the  duty  of 
doing  all  things  to  the  glory  of  God,  by  employing  our 
several  gifts  and  talents  for  that  end : — the  duty  of  re- 
pentance from  dead  works  ;  of  dying  to  sin  and  living 
to  God  ;  and  of  putting  on  the  new  man,  and  living, 
not  according  to  the  flesh  but  according  to  the  Spirit : — 
the  duties  of  mortification  and  self  denial,  in  order  to 
the  subduing  our  inordinate  lusts  and  appetites  : — the 
absolute  necessity  of  holiness,  and  the  utter  inconsist- 
ency of  uncleanness  of  all  kinds  with  the  purity  of  the 
Gospel : — the  duty  of  preserving  the  bond  of  marriage 
sacred  and  inviolable  : — the  nature  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  upon  earth,  and  the  communion  of  Christians 
with  him  as  their  head,  and  with  one  another  as  joint 
members  of  his  body : — the  true  import,  due  adminis- 
tration, and  proper  eflicacy  of  the  ordinances  instituted 
by  him  : — the  government  of  his  Church,  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  pastors  and  teachers  therein,  to  minister 
in  holy  things,  and  to  explain  to  the  people  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  and  enforce  the  duties  of  it : — the  pub- 
lic worship  and  discipline  appointed  in  his  Church,  the 
first  to  be  attended,  and  the  second  to  be  submitted  to 
by  all  Christians : — the  necessity  of  union  among  the 
members  of  Christ's  Church,  and  the  great  mischief  of 
divisions : — the  duty  of  praying  for  the  wants  of  one 
another  both  spiritual  and  temporal : — the  due  regula- 
tion of  religious  zeal,  and  the  danger  of  a  misguided 
j5eal : — the  duty  of  preaching  and  taking  up  the  cross  of 
17* 


200  BISHOP  Gibson's 

Christ;  and  the  mischiefs  of  corrupting  the  Christian 
faith  by  philosophy  and  the  wisdom  of  this  world  :— 
the  extreme  danger  of  infidelity  and  apostacy  from  the 
faith  : — the  distinguishing  reward  of  those  who  suffer 
patiently  for  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  persevere 
unto  the  end  : — the  relation  which  good  Christians  bear 
to  the  saints  in  heaven,  while  they  continue  upon  earth  : 
— the  great  happiness  that  is  there  laid  up  for  all  the 
faithful  servants  of  Christ  : — the  order  of  the  general 
resurrection ;  and  the  changes  that  will  be  then  made 
in  the  bodies  of  good  men. 

These  and  the  like  heads  of  doctrine  and  instruction 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  epistles,  being  added  to  the 
light  which  we  receive  from  the  gospels  and  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  give  us  a  complete  view  of  the  Christian 
dispensation  and  every  branch  of  it ;  the  one  being  the 
foundation,  and  the  other  the  superstructure,  and  both 
necessary  to  build  us  up  in  the  t7^ue  faith  and  doc- 
trine of  Christ.  And  whether  these  be  all  equally 
necessary  to  be  explicitly  known  and  believed,  or  all 
equally  fundamental,  is  a  useless  and  idle  inquiry. 
Whoever  reads  the  writings  of  the  apostles,  and  is  per- 
suaded that  the  doctrines  they  delivered  were  received 
from  Christ,  or  written  by  the  direction  and  assistance 
of  his  Holy  Spirit,  cannot  but  think  himself  obhged 
to  believe  and  do  whatever  he  finds  delivered  in  these 
writings,  and  to  consider  them  as  a  divine  rule  of  faith 
and  practice. 

As  to  the  duties  merely  moral,  and  such  as  belong  to 
our  several  stations  and  circumstances  in  this  world,  no 
infidel  has  ever  been  so  hardy  as  to  deny  that  the  epis- 
tles contain  avariety  of  admirable  precepts  and  directions 
for  our  conduct  and  behavior  in  the  several  relations  of 
life,  (for  magistrates  and  people,  wives  and  husbands, 
parents  and  children,  masters  and  servants,)  and  also 
in  the  several  conditions  and  circumstances  of  life, 
rich«s  and  poverty,  health  and  sickness,  prosperity  and 
adversity.  Nor  need  I  repeat  here  what  I  have  shown 
at  large  elsewhere.'  That  these  and  the  hke  duties,  as 
laid  down  and  enjoined  in  those  sacred  writings,  are  not 
only  carried  to  higher  degrees  of  perfection  than  they 

»  Second  Pastoral  Letter,  p.  115. 


THIRD   PASTORAL  LETTER.  201 

ever  were  in  the  schools  of  morality,  but  also  have  far 
greater  weight  here,  as  having  the  stamp  and  sanction 
of  divine  authority,  and  as  they  are  enforced  by  consi- 
derations relating  to  our  eternal  happiness  in  the  next 
life,  and  by  motives  immediately  resulting  from  our 
relation  to  Christ,  and  from  the  general  doctrines  and 
principles  of  the  Christian  faith. 

It  is  true,  that  the  immediate  occasion  of  several  of  the 
epistles,  was  the  correcting  errors  and  irregularities  in 
particular  Churches  and  countries.  Such  were  the  cor- 
rupting Christianity  with  mixtures  of  Judaism  and  philo- 
sophy ; — apostacy  from  the  faith  they  had  received ; — 
contentions  and  divisions  among  themselves : — neglect  of 
the  public  assemblies  and  misbehavior  in  them  ; — the  de- 
spising of  government ; — the  dishonoring  of  marriage ; — 
the  allowing  fornication,  &c. — And  God  knows  our  OAvn 
times  are  a  sad  instance  of  the  necessity  of  such  cautions 
in  all  ages,  and  the  no  less  necessity  of  attending  to  the 
duties  which  are  directly  opposite  to  those  vices  and 
irregularities,  and  which  the  apostles  take  occasion  from 
thence  to  lay  down  and  enforce.  And  even  their  deci- 
sions of  cases  concerning  meats  and  drinks,  and  the  ob- 
servation of  the  ceremonial  law,  and  other  like  doubts 
which  were  peculiar  to  the  Jewish  converts  in  the  first 
occasion  of  them  ;  these  rules  also  are,  and  always  will 
be,  our  surest  guides  in  all  points  relating  to  Christian 
liberty,  and  the  use  of  things  indifferent,  when  the 
grounds  of  those  decisions,  and  the  directions  consequent 
upon  them,  are  duly  attended  to,  and  applied  to  cases  of 
the  Hke  nature  by  the  rules  of  piety  and  prudence  :  or, 
as  a  learned  writer"  expresses  it,  "by  analogy  and  parity 
of  reason,  those  may  be  extended  very  profitably  to  the 
general  behoof  and  advantage  of  other  Churches  of 
God,  and  particular  Christians  of  all  ages  :"  especially, 
in  one  point  which  is  of  universal  concern  in  life,  I 
mean,  the  duty  of  abstaining  from  many  things  which 
are  in  themselves  innocent,  if  we  foresee  that  they  will 
give  offence  to  weak  Christians,  or  be  the  occasion  of 
leading  others  into  sin. 

The  sum,  then,  of  the  sixth  head  is  this ;  that  the 
apostles  were  intrusted  by  Christ  with  the  making  a 

"  Dr.  Hammond. 


202  BISHOP  Gibson's 

full  and  entire  publication  of  his  Gospel,  and  inspired 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  enable  them  to  discharge  that 
trust : — that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  all 
written  or  approved^  by  them: — that  Christians  in  all 
ages  have  thought  themselves  obliged  to  consider  and 
understand  the  nature  of  the  Gospel  dispensation,  as 
they  found  it  explained  by  persons  thus  authorized  and 
inspired  ; — and  that,  as  soon  as  the  several  books  of  the 
New  Testament  appeared  upon  clear  and  evident  proof 
to  be  written  by  the  persons  whose  names  they  bore,  all 
Christian  Churches  received  them  as  inspired  writings, 
and  as  a  divine  rule  of  faith  and  manners. 

The  inference  from  all  this,  which  every  one  who  is 
a  Christian  in  earnest  ought  to  make  to  himself  is  :  to 
consider  it  as  his  indispensable  duty  to  peruse  and 
attend  to  those  sacred  hooks,  as  explaining  to  him  the 
terms  of  salvation  according  to  the  Gospel  covenant, 
and  acquainting  him  with  the  conditions  required  on  his 
part  in  order  to  obtain  it. 

And  because  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are 
also  the  oracles  o/God,  delivered  from  time  to  time  to 
the  Jewish  nation,  and  are  declared  by  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  be  uritten  by  divine  inspiration,  and  do  contain 
in  them  many  excellent  lessons  of  duty,  and  a  great 
variety  of  mercies  and  judgments  sent  upon  men  and 
nations,  according  to  their  obedience  or  disobedience  to 
the  commands  of  God,  and  also  the  accounts  of  God's 
communications  with  mankind  and  his  dealings  with 
them  from  the  creation  of  the  world ;  together  with  a 
treasure  of  devotions  and  meditations  of  all  kinds  and 
for  all  conditions,  especially  in  the  book  of  Psalms  : — 
let  me  therefore  further  entreat  you  carefully  to  peruse 
those  sacred  writings,  frequently  and  seriously  medi- 
tating upon  the  various  providences  and  dispensations 
of  God  to  men,  and  learning  from  thence  to  praise  and 
adore  his  power,  wisdom,  justice,  and  goodness  ;  and 
to  be  careful  above  all  things  to  recommend  yourselves 
to  his  favor  and  protection,  by  a  strict  and  uniform 
obedience  to  his  laws.  What  St.  Paul  says  of  Timothy, 
is  a  high  commendation  of  him :  "  From  a  child  thou 


The  gospels  of  Mark  and  Luke.    See  page  132. 


THIRD  PASTORAL  LETTER.  ^03 

hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make 
thee  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  ;"  and  then  he  adds,  "  All  Scripture  is  given  by 
inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness; 
that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  fur- 
nished unto  all  good  works." ^  And  as  God  has  "  caused 
all  Holy  Scj-iptures,"  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, "to  be  written  for  our  learning,"  as  the  Liturgy 
of  our  Church  expresses  it ;  ^  be  you  always  careful, 
that  (in  the  words  of  the  same  Liturgy)  you  do  "  in 
such  wise  hear  them,  read,  mark,  learn,  and  inwardly 
digest  them,  that  by  patience  and  comfort  of  his  holy 
word,  you  may  embrace  and  ever  hold  fast  the  blessed 
hope  of  everlasting  life,  which  he  hath  given  us  in  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 


TO  CONCLUDE  : 

In  this  and  my  two  former  letters,  I  have  given  yoii 
a  view  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  the  evidences  of 
the  truth  of  it,  in  as  short  a  compass,  and  in  the  plainest 
manner  I  was  able  ;  with  an  eye  throughout  to  the  pre- 
sent attempts  of  infidels  against  our  common  faith,  and 
with  a  sincere  desire  to  preserve  you  from  the  infection, 
and  to  establish  you  in  that  faith.  I  have  shown  you, 
that  the  revealed  will  of  God  is  your  only  sure  guide 
in  the  way  to  salvation  ;  that  a  full  revelation  of  his 
will,  concerning  the  method  and  terms  of  your  salvation, 
is  contained  in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament; — 
that  those  writings  are  genuine  and  authentic,  and 
have  been  faithfully  transmitted  to  us  ; — and  that, 
if  you  neglect  the  means  of  salvation  which  God  has 
appointed,  and  seek  for  it  in  any  other  way,  you  will 
not  only  fail  of  it  in  the  end,  but  likewise  render 
yourselves  inexcusable  in  his  sight. 

I  beseech  you  therefore  to  weigh  and  consider  what  I 
have  written  for  your  use,  with  such  seriousness,  attention, 
and  impartiality,  as  the  importance  of  these  things  most 
manifestly  requires  and  deserves  ;  and  to  take  great  care 


y  2  Tim.  iii.  15,  16,  17.  '  Collect  for  second  Sunday  in  Advent, 

Compare  1  Cor.  x.  11. 


204     BISHOP  Gibson's  third  pastoral  letter, 

that  your  inquiries  after  truth  be  wholly  free  from  the  in- 
fluences of  profit  or  pleasure,  pride  or  passion,  and  from 
all  views  and  considerations  whatsoever,  except  a  sincere 
desire  and  intention  to  know  and  do  the  will  of  God,  in 
order  to  secure  your  eternal  salvation. 

And  that,  in  the  pursuit  of  this  great  work,  your  own 
endeavors  maybe  ever  accompanied  with  the  Divine 
direction  and  assistance,  is  the  hearty  and  earnest 
prayer  of 

Your  faithful  friend  and  pastor, 

EDMUND  LONDON. 


LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY, 


BY    GEORGE    HORNE,    D.D. 

[LATE  BISHOP  OF  NORWICH.] 

AUTHOR    OF    A    LETTER   TO    DOCTOR    ADAM    SMITH. 


The  doctrine  of  Epicurus  is  ever  ruinous  to  Society :  It  had  its  rise  when 
Greece  was  declining,  and  pei'haps  hastened  its  dissolution,  as  also  that  of  Rome  ; 
it  is  now  propagated  in  .France  and  England,  and  seems  likely  to  produce  the 
same  effect  in  both.— Gray,  Memoir,  p.  202. 


PREFACE. 


The  tracts  which  follow  were  in  the  first  instance 
published  separately,  anonymously,  and,  as  the  con- 
tents will  show,  in  an  order  now  inverted.  The  more 
general  interest  and  importance  of  the  larger  work; 
and  the  fitness  of  the  other  to  leave  the  reader  both  in 
a  proper  frame  of  mind,  and  possessed  of  clear  notions 
of  the  contrast  between  the  infidel  and  his  principles 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  religion  against  which  he  set 
himself,  on  the  other ;  were  the  reasons  for  this  trans- 
position. 

The  Letter  to  Dr.  Smith  was  first  published  from  the 
Clarendon  Press,  without  the  author's  name,  in  ITTT." 
It  attracted  much  notice,  and  very  effectually  answered 
Us  end,  by  awakening  the  public  attention  to  the  true 
character  of  Hume  and  his  then  increasing  school. 
Several  editions  succeeded  each  other  with  rapidity; 
and  HoRNE,  to  whom  the  pamphlet  was  almost  immedi- 
ately ascribed,  received  the  thanks  and  applauses  of  all 
true  friends  of  religion. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  such  a  severe  attack 


*  Hume  died  the  25th  of  August,  1776.  His  autobiography,  entitled 
My  Own  Life^  bears  date  April  18th  of  the  same  year.  The  Letter 
from  Adam  Smith,  LL.  D.,  to  William  Strahan,  Esq.,  which  called 
forth  the  animadversions  of  Horne,  was  published  as  a  supplement  to 
Hume's  Life.    It  is  dated  Nov.  9,  1776. 

Vol.  v.— 18 


200  PREFACE. 

would  be  received  in  silence  by  Dr.  Smith.  An  Apo- 
logy for  the  Life  and  Death  of  Mr.  Hume  appeared, 
but  how  soon,  or  in  what  form,  I  am  ignorant.  It  was 
confidently  attributed  to  Dr.  Smith  by  the  periodical? 
of  the  day,  although  generally  allowed  to  be  a  weak 
performance,  and  unworthy  of  its  reputed  author.'' 

This  pamphlet  was  one  of  the  occasions  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Letters  on  Infidelity.  Other  causes, 
however,  operated  more  immediately  to  the  same  effect. 
The  publication  of  Hume's  pestilent  Essays  on  Suicide 
and  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul,  as  "  ascribed  to  him," 
in  1783,«  and  the  private,  but  diligent  circulation,  about 
the  same  time,  of  the  obscure  and  scurrilous  production 
answered  in  the  eighth  and  following  Letters,  aroused 
the  just  indignation  of  Dr.  Home,  and  by  affording  a 
fair  object  for  the  exercise  of  his  satiric  talent,  tempted 
him  once  more  to  inflict  deserved  chastisement  upon 
the  enemies  of  Christianity.  Accordingly,  in  1784,  he 
at  once  replied  to  Dr.  Smith's  Apology,  assumed  the 
new  ground  of  attack  on  Hume  afforded  by  the  posthu- 
mous publication  of  his  Essays  on  Suicide,^  and  gave 


^  It  does  not  appear  among  Dr.  Smith's  collected  works :  but  as 
this  is  also  the  case  with  the  Letter  to  Wm.  Strahan,  Esq.,  the  circum- 
stance affords  no  evidence  against  the  correctness  of  the  supposition 
that  he  was  the  author. 

•■'  Thirty  years  before,  these  Essays  had  been  prepared  by  their 
author  for  publication  in  a  volume  which  then  appeared.  But  after 
they  had  been  actually  printed,  and  a  few  copies  privately  circulated, 
iNliller,  the  publisher,  was  induced  by  a  threat  of  prosecution  to  cancel 
them,  though  much  against  the  author's  will.  The  few  copies  in  ex- 
istence were  consequently  scarce  and  dear,  until  the  edition  of  1783, 
in  12nio.,  made  the  work  generally  accessible.  To  this  edition,  it 
is  true,  the  editor  pretended  to  affix  "remarks  intended  as  an  anti- 
dote ;"  but  more  probably  designed  as  an  evasion  of  the  danger  of 
prosecution. 

d  If  this  posthumous  publication  had  been  against  the  author's  will, 
or  even  without  his  consent,  he  could  hardly  have  been  held  justly 


PREFACE. 


201 


to  the  Doubts  of  the  Infidels  the  answer  which  they 
merited,  in  his  Letters  on  Infidelity  by  the  author  of 
*  A  Letter  to  Dr.  Adam  Smith,''  printed,  like  the  '  Let- 
ter,' at  the  Clarendon  Press,  Oxford. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  there  are  some  featm'es 
in  both  these  tracts  which  tend  to  unfit  them  for  re- 
publication, and  lessen  their  claims  to  be  considered  as 
'  standard  works.'  There  is  an  air  oi personality  about 
them  which  seems  to  militate  against  general  utility. 
The  obsure  production  which  occupies  so  much  of  the 
Letters  on  Infidelity  has  long  since  met  with  its  de- 
served oblivion.  The  allusions  which  give  some  of 
Horne's  sarcasms  their  poignancy  have  lost  the  in- 
terest which  they  derived  from  the  affairs  of  the  day, 
and  almost  cease  to  be  intelligible. 

Yet  there  are  overbalancing  considerations  to  justify 
their  selection.  The  Letter  to  Adam  Smith  cannot  be 
needless  so  long  as  the  fact  which  occasioned  it  meets 
with  extensive  circulation,  and  insinuates  its  falsehoods 
in  the  public  ear.  This  is  the  case  as  yet,  and  likely 
so  to  be  ;  for  Hume's  History  of  England  has  not 
been  superseded,  and  to  every  edition  of  that  work  his 
'  Own  Life,''  and  Dr.  Smith's  supplementary  Letter, 
are  prefixed. 

The  Doubts  of  the  Infidels,  against  which  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  wit  and  reasoning  in  the  other  Letters 
is  directed,  are,  it  is  true,  forgotten.  But  the  arguments 
which  Horne  selects  from  that  work  for  animadversion 
are  the  very  same — often  in  the  very  same  language — 
which  are  at  this  day  in  the  mouth  of  every  victim  of 
the  seductions  of  the  infidel  school.     They  are  invari- 

liable  for  its  contents.  But  the  circumstances  stated  in  the  preceding 
note,  on  the  authority  of  the  Monthly  Review^  ("Vol.  LXX.  p.  828,) 
show  tliat  Horne's  procedure  was  entirely  fair. 


202  PREFACE. 

ably  given  in  the  shortest  form ;  the  ridicule  thrown  on 
them  attaches  to  the  so-called  reasoning,  not  to  the 
vehicle  ;  the  answers  are  as  available  now,  as  when  first 
given;  if  the  references  to  pages  were  omitted,  the  reader 
would  scarcely  have  grounds  to  surmise  that  the  quota- 
tions were  not  taken  from  the  daily  fanfaronade  of  the 
modern  tribe  of  doubters. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  plain,  matter-of-fact  style  of 
these  Letters, — the  simplicity  and  honest  openness  of 
their  reasoning — the  brevity  and  intelligibility  of  all 
the  answers  given  to  objections  and  difficulties  started, 
and  the  very  commonness  of  those  objections  and  diffi- 
culties— and,  more  especially,  the  lively  warmth  and 
rich  vein  of  humor  which  pervade  the  whole,  abundantly 
compensate  for  the  slight  attendant  disadvantages.  The 
work  was  pronounced  by  a  contemporary  critic  "  well 
calculated  to  suit  the  turn  of  the  age  ;"  and  the  recom- 
mendation still  holds  good.  It  will  command  attention 
where  serious  expostulation  and  sound  argument  would 
meet  with  utter  neglect ;  and  it  will  furnish  the  Chris- 
tian with  weapons  for  his  warfare  against  unbelief, 
better  adapted  to  the  light  chit-chat  character  of  the 
learning  and  controversy  of  the  day,  than  even  the 
armor  of  proof  laid  up  in  the  storehouses  of  Leslie, 
and  Lardner,  and  Butler. 

The  letters  on  the  subject  of  suicide,  it  may  be 
thought,  are  hardly  defensible,  even  on  these  grounds : 
— Why  give  so  much  prominence  to  silly  ravings,  too 
contemptible  to  deserve  notice  ? — In  the  first  place,  it 
may  be  answered,  they  are  worthy  of  preservation  as  a 
specimen  of  the  fruits  of  infidelity.  It  is  well  that,  as 
such,  they  should  be  dragged  forth  to  the  glare  of  open 
day — and  if  exposed,  they  must  be  treated  with  their 
due  contumely. — Secondly ;  bad  as  they  are,  these 
arguments  for  suicide  are  the  best  producible :    and 


PREFACE.  $203 

while  instances  of  the  crime  continue  to  occur,  and  the 
heartless  skepticism,  which,  more  than  any  thing  else, 
contributes  to  its  perpetuation,  still  finds  proselytes, — 
there  is  propriety  in  exhibiting,  again  and  again,  its 
utter  destitution  of  excuse. 

As  vehicles  of  truth,  it  is  on  their  reasoning  that 
these  tracts  must  depend  for  their  efiiciency;  and  in 
that  respect  they  will  not  be  found  wanting.  Few 
treatises  of  equal  brevity  comprise  more,  and  more 
cogent  arguments  against  the  cold,  heartless  system 
which  would  degrade  man  to  the  level  of  the  perishing 
brute ; — few  exhibit  with  equal  clearness  the  contrast 
between  the  consequences  of  that  system  and  the  effects 
of  the  blessed  Gospel  of  everlasting  life.  The  ridicule 
with  which  Horne  has  given  such  new  zest  to  his 
defence  of  revelation,  will  be  useful  as  a  support  of  the 
truth  thus  displayed — a  weapon  against  the  error  already 
pointed  out.  It  was  thus  that  he  intended  it  should  be 
regarded — "  not  as  a  test  of  truth,"  but  as  a  legitimate 
means  of  recommending  its  reception,  and  warding  off 
the  assaults  of  falsehood. — There  are,  doubtless,  many 
assailable  points  of  infidelity  against  which  Horne  has 
wielded  neither  his  light  shafts  of  raillery  nor  his  more 
solid  array  of  reasoning ;  there  may  be  many  objections 
which  he  has  neither  brought  forward,  nor  attempted 
to  obviate  :  his  design  was  not  to  exhaust  the  subject, 
but,  as  it  were,  by  a  predatory  incursion  on  the  enemy's 
territory,  to  show  the  weakness  of  his  defences.  It 
would  have  been  a  hopeless,  and  in  all  likelihood  an 
equally  useless  task,  to  examine  in  a  similar  manner  aU 
that  perverted  ingenuity  has  raked  together  to  do  de^ 
spite  to  the  truth  of  God.  The  following  remarks  of 
W.  Jones,  of  Nayland,  with  reference  to  this  subject^ 
are  worthy  of  all  attention. 

^'  If  Christians  are  bound  to  answer  ao  long  as  infidels 


204  PREFACE. 

will  object,  who  never  wish  to  be  satisfied,  and  are 
probably  incapable  of  being  so,  their  lot  would  be 
rather  hard,  and  much  of  their  time  unprofitably  spent. 
The  gentlemen  of  the  long  robe  attend  the  court,  not 
to  answer  the  scruples  which  felons  may  entertain  about 
the  principles  of  justice,  but  to  administer  the  law; 
otherwise  their  work  would  never  be  done  : — and  it  is 
the  business  of  the  clergy  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
people  ;  it  was  the  part  of  God,  who  gave  the  word,  to 
prove  it  to  the  world  by  prophecies  and  miracles.  The 
prophecies  are  as  strong  as  ever  ;  some  of  them  more 
so  than  formerly :  and  miracles  are  not  to  be  repeated 
for  proof;  after  the  world  hath  once  been  persuaded, 
all  is  then  left  to  testimony  and  education.  Before 
Moses  gave  the  law,  he  showed  signs  and  wonders ; 
but  when  the  law  was  once  received,  parents  were  to 
tell  their  children,  and  confirm  the  truth  by  the  memo- 
rials that  were  left  of  it.  It  therefore  lies  upon  our 
adversaries  to  show,  how  it  came  to  pass,  on  any  of 
Ikeir  principles,  that  men  like  themselves,  as  much  dis- 
posed to  make  objections,  should  receive  the  Scripture 
as  the  word  of  God  in  the  several  nations  of  the  world, 
and  receive  it  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  :  a  fact  which 
they  cannot  deny.  Let  them  also  try  to  account  for  it, 
on  their  own  principles,  how  the  Jews  have  been  stroll- 
ing about  the  world  for  seventeen  hundred  years,  as 
witnesses  to  the  Scripture,  and  to  the  sentence  therein 
passed  upon  themselves.  Till  they  can  do  these  things, 
it  is  nothing  but  an  evasion  to  cavil  about  words  and 
passages — a  certain  mark  of  prejudice  and  perverse- 
ness.  They  know  they  cannot  deny  the  whole  ;  but  as 
they  must  appear  to  be  doing  something,  they  flatter 
their  pride  by  keeping  up  a  skirmish,  and  perplex  weak 
people,  by  raising  difficulties  about  the  parts.  This 
was  the  expedient  on  which  Mr.  Voltaire  bestowed 


PREFACE.  305 

SO  much  labor.  It  does  not  appear  to  me  that  he 
really  thought  the  facts  of  Christianity  to  be  false ;  but 
that  his  vanity  and  perverseness  tempted  him  to  ridicule 
the  Bible,  without  denying  to  his  mind  that  God  was 
the  author  of  it :  in  fact,  that  he  was  a  Theomachistj 
who  hated  the  truth,  knowing  it  to  be  such,  and  braved 
the  authority  of  heaven  itself:  or,  in  the  words  of 
Herbert,  that  he  was  a  man 

"  Who  makes  flat  war  with  God,  and  doth  defy 
With  his  poor  clod  of  earth,  the  spacious  sky." 

If  a  religion  to  which  the  nature  of  man  is  so  hostile, 
did  actually  make  its  way  without  force,  and  against  the 
utmost  cruelty  and  discouragement  from  the  world  ; 
that  fact  was  a  miracle,  including  within  itself  a  thou- 
sand other  miracles."^ 


Jones'  Life  of  Home,  p.  131,  5.\  cd,  Lond.  1799. 


MEMOIR. 


"  Dr.  Horne  was  no  circumnavigator :  he  neither 
sailed  with  Drake,  Anson,  nor  Cook  :  but  he  M^as  a  man 
whose  mind  surveyed  the  intellectual  world,  and  brought 
home  from  thence  many  excellent  observations  for  the 
benefit  of  his  native  country.  He  was  no  military  com- 
mander ;  he  took  no  cities  ;  he  conquered  no  countries; 
but  he  spent  his  life  in  subduing  his  passions,  and  in 
teaching  us  how  to  do  the  same.  He  fought  no  battles 
by  land  or  by  sea;  but  he  opposed  the  enemies  of  God 
and  his  truth,  and  obtained  some  victories  which  are 
worthy  to  be  recorded.  He  was  no  prime  minister  to 
any  earthly  potentate  ;  but  he  was  a  minister  to  the 
King  of  heaven  and  earth  :  an  ofiice  at  least  as  useful 
to  mankind,  and  in  the  administration  of  which  no 
minister  to  an  earthly  king  ever  exceeded  him  in  zeal 
and  fidelity.  He  made  no  splendid  discoveries  in  na- 
tural history  ;  but  he  did  what  was  better:  he  applied 
universal  nature  to  the  improvement  of  the  mind,  and 
the  illustrations  of  heavenly  doctrines.  I  call  these 
events:  not  such  as  make  a  great  noise  and  signify 
little  ;  but  such  as  are  little  celebrated  and  of  great  sig- 
nification." Thus  his  honest  and  warm-hearted  biogra- 
pher consoled  himself  when  reminded  of  the  paucity  of 
event  in  the  life  which  he  had  undertaken  to  narrate. 
There  was  reason  both  for  the  complaint  and  for  the 
consolation.  Few  celebrated  men  have  passed  a  life  of 
such  smooth  and  even  tenor — so  wholly  destitute  of 
diversifying  changes  and  occurrences,  as  that  of  Bishop 
Horne ;  and  yet,  by  making  his  biography  the  history 
of  his  studies  and  opinions,  Jones'"  has  rendered  it  in- 


'  [The  Rev.  William  Jones,  generally  called  (from  his  last  resi- 
dence, and  to  distinguish  him  from  his  illustrious  namesake  vSir  Wil- 
liam Jones,)  Jones  of  Nayland, — was  born  in  1726,  being  a  few  years 
the  senior  of  the  man  whose  history  and  character  he  has  perpetuated. 
He  studied  at  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  and  on  the  completion  of  his 
course,  was  admitted  to  deacons'  orders  in  1749. — In  1751  he  took  priests' 


MEMOIR. 


sot 


teresting  and  instructive  in  a  degree  to  which  few  nar- 
ratives,   however   replete   with   incident   and   varying 


orders  and  removed  to  a  curacy  at  Fencdon,  in  his  native  county.  Here 
with  the  assistance  of  Home,  he  composed  his  first  w^ork,  an  Ansxcer 
to  Clayton's  Essaxj  on  Spirit.  From  that  time  he  devoted  himself 
assiduously  to  the  maintenance  and  propagation  of  the  Hutchinsonian 
system,  and  to  the  defence  of  the  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  Church 
of  England  against  its  enemies  of  every  name.  He  was  a  Churchman 
of  the  school  of  Hickes  and  Leslie,  with  less  learning  perhaps,  but 
more  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and  no  less  shrewdness  and  ability. 
His  Catholic  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  maintaining  that  article  of  faith 
by  a  collection  and  comparison  of  texts  of  Scripture,  has  never  been 
either  answered  or  superseded.  It  appeared  in  1754,  and  was  enlarged 
by  a  Letter  to  the  Common  People,  in  ansicer  to  some  popular  argu- 
ments against  the  Trinity,  in  1767.  His  first  philosophical  work  was 
published  in  17G2,  by  the  title  of  An  Essay  on  the  First  Principles  of 
Natural  Philosophy,  4to.  It  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  subscription 
by  persons  favorable  to  the  Hutchinsonian  views,  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  him  to  prosecute  a  course  of  experiments  on  an  extensive 
scale,  for  the  elucidation  and  establishment  of  the  principles  developed 
'  in  that  view. 

In  1764,  he  was  presented  to  the  vicarage  of  Bethersden,  in  Kent, 
by  Archbishop  Seeker.  There  he  added  to  his  income,  by  the  tuition 
of  a  few  pupils  in  his  family.  In  1765,  the  same  liberal  patron  pre- 
sented him  to  the  preferable  living  of  Pluckley,  also  in  Kent.  His  re- 
moval, however,  did  not  break  off  either  his  philosophical  pursuits,  or 
his  engagements  as  a  teacher,  both  of  which  he  contrived  to  carry  on 
in  addition  to  the  most  exemplary  discharge  of  his  parochial  duties. 
His  Reasonable  Caution  against  Errors  in  Doctrine,  in  1769 ;  i?e- 
marks  on  the  "  Confessional,"  in  1770 ;  Zoologia  Ethica,  in  1772 ; 
Dissertations  on  Ldfe  and  Death,  in  1772;  Disquisitions  on  select 
subjects  of  Scripture,  in  1773  ;  and  Reflections  on  the  Growth  of  Hea- 
thenism, in  1776,  all  attest  his  unwearied  diligence,  and  his  watchful- 
ness to  resist  the  inroads  of  error,  while  resident  at  Pluckley. 

In  1776  he  removed  from  Pluckley,  to  the  perpetual  curacy  of  Nay- 
land,  in  Suffolk,  which  he  ever  after  made  his  residence.  He  was  about 
this  time  chosen  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  In  1781,  the  results  of 
his  philosophical  pursuits  appeared  in  his  Physiological  Disquisitions ; 
or  Discourses  concerning  the  Natural  Philosophy  of  the  Elements,  in 
4to.  His  celebrated  Essays  on  the  Figurative  Language  of  Scripture, 
pubUshed  in  1788,  was  his  next  production,  and  is  that  by  which,  next 
to  his  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  he  is  best  known.  Several  smaller 
tracts,  including  his  popular  Essay  on  the  Church,  and  his  Church- 
man^ s  Catechism,  were  issued  about  this  period,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
parishioners.  Two  volumes  of  Sermons  succeeded,  in  1790.  The 
political  commotions  of  that  period  involved  his  active  and  benevolent 
mind  in  fresh  efforts  to  do  good.  The  estabUshment  of  the  British 
Critic,  and  the  publication  of  that  invaluable  collection  of  tracts,  The 
Scholar  Armed,  were  among  the  number. 

The  infirmities  of  age  now  coming  fast  upon  him,  obliged  him  to 
discontinue  the  reception  of  pupils,  and  to  supply  the  diminution  of  in- 
come thus  produced,  he  was  presented  by  another  Archbishop  of  Can- 


208  MEMOIR. 

scenery,  can  pretend.'^  It  will  be  easy  to  comprise  the 
facts  of  Bishop  Home's  history,  extracted  from  that 
hife,  within  the  narrow  compass  that  can  be  allotted  to 
this  Memoir  ;  but  the  spirit  of  that  useful  work  cannot 
be  so  easily  preserved.  He  who  would  see  the  scholar, 
without  affectation  of  learning — the  Christian  rendered 
cheerful  and  companionable  by  his  lively  faith,  humble 
without  grovelling  or  meanness,  and  zealous  without 
bigotry — the  minister  of  Christ  fully  sensible  of  the 
responsibility  of  his  high  calling,  and  unremittingly 
employed  in  its  duties — the  friend  true  to  his  affection, 
and  carrying  his  friendship  beyond  the  bounds  of  time 
and  temporal  relation — the  man  of  wit  and  eloquence 
devoting  those  rare  talents  with  singleness  of  heart  to 
his  Maker's  service  : — this  character,  which  truly  be- 
longed to  Home,  he  will  find  displayed  to  view  in 
Jones'  work,  and  must  go  there  for  it — for  it  is  only 
by  entering  at  length,  as  he  has  done,  into  the  studies 
and  professional  pursuits  of  a  quiet  but  useful  life,  that 
it  can  be  portrayed  in  its  true  colours. 

George  Horne  was  born  on  the  1st  of  November, 
in  the  year  1730,  at  Otham  in  Kent,  of  which  his  father, 
che  Rev.  Samuel  Horne,  was  rector.  From  this  parent 
he  probably  inherited  that  amiability  of  disposition  for 
which  he  was  afterwards  so  eminently  distinguished. 
"  He  was  of  so  mild  and  quiet  a  temper,"  says  Jones, 
speaking  of  the  father,  "  that  he  studiously  avoided 
giving  trouble  on  any  occasion ;"  and  proceeds  to  re- 


terbiiry  to  the  sinecure  rectory  of  HoIIingbourn  in  Kent,  in  1798.  His 
Discourse  on  the  Use  'and  Intention  of  some  remarkable  Passages  of 
the  Scriptures,  published  in  the  following  year,  closed  the  long  list  of  his 
contributions  to  theological  and  physical  learning.  The  death  of  his 
wife,  soon  after,  plunged  hixn  in  deep  affliction,  and  was  followed  by  an 
attack  of  partial  paralysis,  under  which  he  gradually  sunk  until  Febru- 
ary 6,  1800,  when  his  honest  and  useful  life  was  closed  by  a  peaceful 
death,  without  sigh  or  groan,  in  the  74th  year  of  his  age.] 

b  [Memoirs  of  the  Life,  Studies,  and  Writings  of  the  Right  Re- 
verend George  Horne,  D.  D.,  late  Lord  Bishop  of  Norwich  ;  with  a 
Prefatory  Epistle  to  William  Stevens,  Esq. ;  Dr.  Home's  own  Collec- 
tion of  his  Thoughts  on  a  variety  of  great  and  interesting  subjects  ; 
and  a  Letter  to  the  Hon.  L  [ord]  K  [enyon]  on  the  Use  of  the  Hebrew 
Language.  By  William  Jones,  M.  A.  F.  R.  S.  one  of  his  Lordship's 
Chai)lains.  London,  1795.— A  second  edition  appeared  in  1799,  with 
the  addition  of  ^  New  Preface,  on  certain  interesting  points  in  Theo- 
logy and  Philosophy.] 


MEMOIR.  209 

late  a  singular  instance — that  when  his  son  George  was 
an  infant,  he  used  to  wake  him  with  playing  upon  a 
flute,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  unpleasant  sen- 
sation of  sudden  waking.  "  What  impression  this  early 
custom  of  his  father  might  make  upon  his  temper,"  the 
biographer  remarks,  with  much  naivete,  "  we  cannot 
say :  but  certainly,  he  was  remarkable,  as  he  grew  up, 
for  a  tender  feeling  of  music,  especially  that  of  the 
church." 

Nothing  more  is  recorded  of  his  earliest  years,  ex- 
cept that  he  made  good  progress  in  his  studies  under 
the  tuition  of  his  father,  until  the  age  of  thirteen,  when 
he  was  placed  in  a  grammar  school  at  Maidstone,  near 
his  native  village.  There  he  continued  two  years,  when 
upon  the  vacancy  of  a  Maidstone  scholarship''  in  Uni- 
versity College,  Oxford,  he  applied  for  it,  succeeded, 
and,  young  as  he  was,  went  directly  to  college,  at  the 
recommendation  of  his  master.  He  was  admitted  on 
the  15th  of  March,  1746. 

At  college,  among  many  others  whom  his  amiable 
manners  and  a  community  of  pursuits  attached  to  him, 
young  Home  became  intimate  with  Mr.  Jinkinson, 
afterwards  the  Earl  of  Liverpool,  and  Mr.  Moore,  the 
predecessor  of  Archbishop  Sutton  in  the  see  of  Canter- 
bury, a  connexion  which,  unquestionably,  was  in  some 
measure  subservient  to  his  advancement  in  after  life. 

His  character  was  such  as  fully  to  justify  the  predi- 
lection of  his  friends.  It  stood  equally  high  Avith  all 
Avho  knew  him ;  of  this  the  manner  of  his  election  to  a 
fellowship  furnished  an  agreeable  evidence.  Shortly 
after  he  had  taken  his  Bachelor's  degree,  (Oct.  27th, 
1749,)  a  Kentish  fellowship'^  in  Magdalen  College  be- 
came vacant ;  and  there  was  no  person  in  the  college 
qualified  to  fill  it.  The  senior  fellow  of  University 
College,  hearing  of  the  circumstance,  w^ithout  consulting 
Mr.  Home,  took  immediate  measures  to  secure  his 
election  to  the  vacancy,  and  was  successful.  This 
measure,  in  itself  such  a  pleasing  testimony  of  esteem, 
both   in  him  who  gave  the  recommendation,  and  in 


<=  A  scholarship  founded  upon  condition  of  its  being  ahvays  filled 
from  the  school  of  Maidstone. 

'I  One  which,  by  the  founder's  prescription,  was  to  be  filled  with  a 
native  of  the  county  of  Kent. 


210  MEMOIR. 

those  who  acted  upon  it,  had  an  important  influence  on 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  Of  the  society  in  which,  by 
this  election,  he  became  a  member,  he  was  subsequently 
chosen  head.  His  Mastership  introduced  him  to  the 
office  of  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University.  In  this 
station  he  became  acquainted  with  the  Chancellor,  Lord 
Guilford,  (afterward  Lord  North  ;)  and  of  this  acquaint- 
ance the  Deanery  of  Canterbury  and  Bishopric  of  Nor- 
wich were  unquestionably  the  results.  Thus  was  silent 
and  unobtrusive  merit  the  instrument,  in  the  hand  of 
Providence,  of  procuring  its  own  reward,  in  the  be- 
stowal of  honorable  and  responsible  employment. 

But  Home's  college  friendships  had  an  influence  on 
his  studies  and  principles  even  more  important  than 
that  on  his  professional  career.  While  yet  an  under- 
graduate, they  engaged  him  in  a  course  of  reading,  and 
led  him  to  imbibe  opinions,  that  were  to  him  as  a  polar 
star  through  life.  Jones,  his  most  intimate  friend,  had 
been  drawn  by  his  fondness  for  music  into  an  ac- 
quaintance with  some  gentlemen  of  another  college, 
who  combined  that  noble  recreation  with  studies  of  a 
severer  cast.  They  were  followers  of  Hutchinson,* 
and  warm  advocates  of  his  peculiar  opinions. '^     Jones 

^  [John  Hutchinson,  a  respectable  layman,  steward  to  an  English 
nobleman,  has  become  famous  rather  through  the  merits  of  his  followers 
than  by  his  own.  The  praise  of  unfeigned  piety,  ardent  zeal  for  what 
he  deemed  the  truth,  and  great  ingenuity  in  its  investigation  and  sup- 
port, must  be  unhesitatingly  awarded  him.  His  learning,  though  by 
no  means  inconsiderable,  was  eccentric  and  ill-digested,  and  crudely 
scattered  through  a  strange  farrago  of  philosophical,  pbilological,  theo- 
Idgical,  and  controversial  writings,  collected  in  a  uniform  edition  of  no 
less  than  twelve  octavo  volumes,  in  1748.  Hutchinson  was  horn  at 
Spennythorn,  in  Yorkshire,  in  1674,  and  died  in  1737. — Bate  (Julius), 
Spearman,  Parkhurst,  the  Lord  President  Forbes,  Bishop  Horne, 
Jones  of  Nayland,  Bishop  Horsley,  and  the  Rev.  T.  T.  Biddulph, 
are  the  best  known  among  the  advocates  of  Hutchinson's  opinions, 
which,  however,  neither  of  the  four  last  named  adopted  in  all  respects.] 

f  [Thee  opinions  occupy  too  prominent  a  place  in  the  life  and 
writings  of  Horne  to  be  passed  over  without  an  attempt  at  their  descrip- 
tion. Some  of  them  are  common  to  all  sincere  recipients  of  the  '  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints'  by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  Of  others, 
the  rank  assigned  them  is  the  chief  peculiarity.  Others  belong  exclu- 
sively to  Hutchinson  and  his  followers. 

A  deep  reverence  for  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  and  entire  sub- 
mission to  their  teaching — a  disposition  to  seek  for  God,  to  see  traces 
of  his  goodness,  and  wisdom,  and  power,  in  every  thing — an  ardent 
devotion  to  the  study  and  interpretation  of  his  revealed  will — a  firm 


MEMOIR.  211 

became  a  thorough  convert  to  their  views,  and  held 
frequent  conferences  on  the  subject  with  his  friend. 
At  first,  he  found  Home  reluctant  to  bestow  any  atten- 
tion on  the  novel,  and  at  that  time  not  only  unfashion- 
able but  obnoxious  system.  Gradually,  however,  he 
won  upon  him,  and  before  their  first  college  year  was 
completed,  succeeded  in  imparting  a  share  of  the  in- 


belief  in  the  doctrine  of  the  triune  godhead — an  entire  reliance  on 
the  atoning  sacrifice  and  mediatorial  intercession  of  Christ  Jesus,  at 
the  alone  procuring  cause  of  our  salvation — an  humble  acknowledg- 
ment of  human  depravity  and  helplessness,  and  the  absolute  need  of  thf 
renewing  and  sanctifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  : — these  are 
traits  of  the  Hutchinsonian  system  which  must  belong  to  the  Christian 
•characterj  wherever  it  exists  in  its  integrity,  but  which  it  is  the  glory 
of  the  Hutchinsonians  to  have  manifested  with  a  distinctness  and  bold- 
ness both  uncommon  and  unpopular  in  their  age  of  cold  and  lifeless 
theology. 

The  derivation  of  aZZ  religious  knowledge  from  divine  revelation,  and 
consequent  utter  worthlessness  of  all  speculations  on  pretended  natural 
religion — the  uselessness  and  dangerous  tendency  of  heathen  learning, 
in  the  extent  to  which  professed  philologers  often  carry  its  pretension? 
— the  entire  correspondence  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  doc- 
trine and  precept— the  revelation  of  divine  things  by  means  of  typet^ 
and  symbols,  principally  in  the  sacred  history  and  laws,  but  to  a  very 
great  extent  in  the  natural  creation,  which  is  thus  applicable  as  a 
sensible  evidence  to  the  truth  of  Scripture — the  inseparable  connexion 
of  Christ's  promises  with  his  Church — the  value  and  necessity  of  the 
ordinances  which  God  has  thought  proper  to  associate  with  his  Word, 
as  means  of  grace  and  pledges  of  salvation : — these  are  points  on  which 
the  Hutchinsonians,  though  they  hold  them  in  common  with  many,  ii 
not  the  majority  of  devout  Christians,  lay  peculiar  stress;  never  suffer- 
ing them  to  be  wholly  out  of  view,  and  regarding  them  as  essential  tc 
the  integrity  of  a  system  of  Christian  belief  and  practice. 

A  physico-theological  interpretation  of  Scripture,  is  the  one  great 
distinctive  feature  of  the  system,  into  which  all  its  minor  peculiarities 
may  be  resolved.  The  Hutchinsonians  receive  the  naked  text  of  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures,  associated  with  the  New  Testament  and  interpreted 
by  that  completer  revelation,  as  the  sole  basis  of  all  knowledge  of  things 
spiritual  and  material.  They  indignantly  reject  the  vowel-points,  and 
Masoretic  notes,  as  Jewish  corruptions,  and  regard  the  whole  body  of 
Rabbinical  lexicography  and  comment  with  entire  abhorrence.  They 
consider  the  Hebrew  language  as  the  primeval  tongue,  framed  by  the 
Creator  himself,  and  perfect  in  its  structure.  In  consequence  of  this, 
they  attach  great  importance  to  the  divine  names  and  the  terms  em- 
ployed to  designate  the  relations  and  dealings  of  God  with  man,  in  the 
Old  Testament;  and  from  etymological  interpretations  of  these,  draw 
many  arguments  and  inferences  in  support  of  the  distinctive  features 
of  the  Gospel.— They  derive  from  the  Scriptures,  and  especially  the 
Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  and  the  deluge,  a  system  of  natural  phi- 
losophy variant  in  many  respects  from  that  of  Newton :  particularly 
Vol.  v.— 19 


212  MEMOIR, 

terest  which  he  himself  experienced.  A  Mr.  Watson/ 
an  amiable  and  gentlemanly  scholar,  resident  in  the 
same  college,  completed  the  work,  and  fixed  in  the 
young  academician  an  unalterable  attachment  to  the 
study  of  Hebrew,  the  peculiarities  of  the  Hutchinson- 
ian  philosophy,,  and  those  pure,  uncompromising,  and 


in  denying  the  possibility  of  a  vacuum,  the  inertness  of  matter,  and  the 
doctrines  of  gravitation,  and  of  attraction  and  repulsion ;  and  in  ascrib- 
ing all  the  phenomena  of  the  universe  to  a  triune  material  agent — fin. 
existing  at  the  central  solar  orb — light,  which  is  fire  in  eflSux — and 
•spirit,  or  ether,  which  is  the  same  on  its  return  to  the  central  orb.  On 
this  last  particular  they  lay  much  stress,  as  an  illustration  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,— Lastly,  they  consider  the  cherubim,  of  which 
mention  is  made  in  the  Mosaic  books  and  in  Ezekiel,  as  identical  with 
the  'beasts'  (a  miserable  translation  of  (,wa  animals,  living  things,) 
in  the  Revelations,  and  symbolical  of  the  mysterious  union  of  the  three 
Divine  Persons  with  the  human  nature  of  Christ. 

That  none  of  these  opinions  are  untenable  as  philosophical  tenets, 
and  that  others  are  little  less  objectionable  in  a  historical  and  critical 
point  of  view,  will  scarcely  be  questioned.  But  it  must  be  admitted 
that,  with  some  rubbish,  this  system  contains  much  sterling  bullion 
It  rather  errs  in  carrying  principles,  founded  on  truth,  to  injudicious 
excess,  than  in  broaching  any  thing  untrue  or  hurtful.  Its  tendency, 
if  experience,  the  surest  criterion  at  least  of  practical  effect,  may  be 
allowed  to  decide,  is  good — to  promote  the  love  of  God  and  man- 
and  to  extend  the  reign  of  that  wisdom  which  '  is  pure  and  peace- 
able.' Its  maintainers  have  been  Churchmen  of  the  highest  grade  and 
the  truest  piety — a  piety  which  none  have  ever  dared  to  call  in  ques- 
tion. They  have  ever  been  among  the  most  fearless  opponents  of 
wickedness  in  high  places  and  all  the  delusions  of  Satan^  combating 
sin,  and  infideUty,  and  error,  in  every  shape,  with  determined  boldness 
and  unwearied  assiduity.  To  borrow  the  words  of  Conybeare,  in  his 
Bampton  Lectures —  "  they  earnestly  recommended  and  diligently 
practised  the  study  of  the  sacred  language,  the  comparison  of  Scripture 
with  Scripture,  the  investigation  of  the  typical  character  of  the  elder 
covenant,  and  of  the  perfect  and  universal  spirituality  of  the  new  ;  they 
never  lost  sight  of  the  soundness  of  Christian  doctrine,  or  the  necessity 
of  grounding  evangelical  precepts  upon  evangelical  principles.  It  can- 
not be  remembered,  indeed,  without  gratitude,  that  their  views  of  the 
Mosaic  and  Christian  dispensations  were  the  views  of  men  of  no  com- 
mon intellects  or  attainments ;  that  to  this  source,  under  one  yet  higher, 
we  owe  the  Christian  spirit  which  attracts,  and  delights,  and  edifies,  in 
the  pure  and  affectionate  ministrations  of  Horne,  which  instructs 
and  convinces  in  the  energetic  and  invaluable  labors  of  Horsley." 

«  Of  this  gentleman,  Jones  speaks  in  the  highest  terms,  (Life  of 
Horne,  p.  25-30,  2d  ed.)  and  attributes  the  first  suggestions  of  Horne's 
admirable  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  to  a  sermon  on  the  nineteenth 
Psalm,  preached  by  Mr.  Watson  before  the  University  soon  after  the 
commencement  of  his  acquaintance  with  the  then  young  collegian,  on 
whom  it  produced  an  extraordinary  impression. 


MEMOIR.  213 

eminently  scriptural  religious  principles  which  have 
given  lasting  value  to  his  character. 

The  consequence  was,  a  fresh  ardor  of  devotion  to  his 
studies,  partly  tha|;  he  might  investigate  the  claims  of 
the  new  principles  he  had  embraced,  and  partly  with  a 
view  to  set  them  in  a  stronger  light,  and  add  new  force 
to  their  pretensions.  His  stay  at  college  during  the 
vacation  for  the  better  prosecution  of  these  favorite 
pursuits,  and  a  series  of  letters  to  his  father,  filling 
thirty  closely  written  quarto  pages,  in  which  he  detailed 
their  progress,  attest  his  earnestness. 

With  the  warmth  of  a  new  convert,  the  young  Hutch- 
insonian  made  his  first  appearance  as  an  author,  in  his 
twentieth  year,  by  an  anonymous  attack  upon  the  New- 
tonian philosophy.^  Hutchinson  had  conceived  an 
opinion  that  Newton,  Clarke,  and  others,  were 
leagued  against  Christianity  with  Toland  and  their 
other  deistical  contemporaries,  and  that  the  Newtonian 
system  was  to  be  the  great  engine  for  the  subversion  of 
the  Gospel  and  the  estabhshment  of  Pantheism  on  its 
ruins.  To  this  Home  hastily  assented,  and  in  the 
ardor  of  his  zeal,  attempted  to  expose  the  fancied  con- 
spiracy, in  a  sarcastic  parallel  between  the  Heathen 
doctrine  as  exhibited  in  Cicero's  Somnium  Scipionis, 
and  the  philosophy  of  Newton.  Even  Jones  does  not 
attempt  to  defend  this  juvenile  production,  but  censures 
its  "  faulty  flights  and  wanderings,"  and  "  impropriety 
of  style  and  manner." 

Two  years  passed  in  the  assiduous  prosecution  of  the 
studies  thus  begun  and  publicly  espoused,  before  Home 
again  appeared  as  a  writer.  Continual  and  impartial 
discussion  of  the  principles  which  he  had  adopted,  not 
only  with  their  most  distinguished  supporters,  but  also 
with  several  of  their  ablest  opponents,  had  strengthened 
and  settled  Home's  convictions  of  their  truth,  and  at 
the  same  time  qualified  him  to  base  their  defence  more 
solidly  and  surely  than  in  his  first  eager  eflfort.     Ac- 


h  The  Theology  and  Philosophy  in  Cicero^s  Somnium  Scipioni* 
explained ;  or  a  brief  Attempt  to  demonstrate  that  the  Newtonian 
System  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  Notions  of  the  wisest  Ancients ; 
and  that  mathematical  Principles  are  the  only  sure  ones.  Bxo.  Lon- 
don, 1751, 


•^14  MEMOIR. 

cordingly,  his  second  production,'  devoted  to  the  same 
object  as  the  first,  was  of  a  very  different  character. 
Jones  has  in  no  respect  exceeded  the  bounds  of  strict 
justice,  when  he  describes  it  as  "  a  mild  and  serious 
pamphlet,"  which  "  certainly  is,  what  it  calls  itself, 
fair,  candid,  and  impartial;  and"  in  which  "the 
merits  of  the  cause  are  very  judiciously  stated  between 
the  two  parties." 

In  the  mean  while,  he  had  taken  his  Master's  degree 
ill  1752,  and  had  been  occupied  in  diligent  preparation 
tor  holy  orders,  to  which  he  was  admitted  by  the  Bishop 
of  Oxford,  on  Trinity  Sunday,  1753.  Few  assume  the 
sacred  office  with  better  qualifications  for  its  apt  dis- 
charge, or  better  dispositions  for  a  faithful  performance 
of  its  duties,  than  he  possessed.  In  church  principles, 
■A  professed  disciple  of  Leslie,  Hickes,  and  Law,^' 
stored  with  the  theology  of  Jeremy  Taylor  and  of 
Jacksox,'  with  piety  kindled,  under  the  gracious  influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Spirit,  at  the  torch  of  Law°^  and 
AN'DREWs,f^  he  presented  himself  in  simplicity  and  godly 


i  Afaii\  candid,  and  impartial  State  of  the  Case  between  Sir  Isaac 
Newtmi  and  Mr.  Hutchinson  ;  in  which  is  shoipn,  how  Jar  a  System- 
of  Physics  is  capable  of  Mathematical  Demonstration  ;  how  far  Sir 
haac's^  as  such  a  System,  has  that  Demonstration ;  and  consequently 
mhat  regard  Mr.  Hutchinson's  Claim  may  deserve  to  have  paid  it. 
8vo.  Oxford,  1753. 

k  Life,  &.C.  p.  69,  ^'.  "  The  works  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Leslie, 
\n.  two  volumes  foUo,  may  be  considered  as  a  Ubrary  in  themselves  to 
;n:y  young  student — and  no  such  person,  who  takes  a  fancy  to  what 
he  there  finds,  can  ever  fall  into  Socinianism,  fanaticism,  Poper\',  oi 
liny  other  of  those  more  modern  corruptions. — Every  treatise  compre- 
liended  in  that  collection  is  incomparable  in  its  way,"  cays  Jon'es, 
ii;iving  an  account  of  their  discovery  by  Home. 

1  Life,  &c.  p.  76. 

"  lb.  p.  74.  HoRXE  was  far  from  accompanying  that  eminent  prac- 
tical writer  to  the  extremes  of  asceticism  and  mystic  absurdity  to  which 
he  suffered  himself  to  be  seduced.  Not  only  did  he  carefully  draw  the 
line  between  the  devotion  of  Law  and  his  blameworthy  reveries,  but  to 
assist  others  in  making  the  distinction  drew  up  an  essay,  entitled  Cau- 
tions  to  the  Readers  of  Mr.  Laic,  which  was  published  by  Joxes  in 
thc  Appendix  to  his  Life. 

°  Life,  p.  82.  Home  first  met  with  Bishop  Andrews'  Manual  of 
Private  Devotions  in  the  College  Library,  and  having  perused  it  with 
riuch  delight  himself,  assiduously  recommended  it  to  his  friends.  He 
subsequently  published  a  handsome  edition  of  Dean  Stanhope's  trans- 
lation of  the  work,  with  a  recommendatory  preface.  He  also  drew  ui> 
a  short  account  of  the  hfc  and  character  of  Bishop  Andrews,  published 


MEMOIR.  215 

sincerity,  as  one  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  his 
Master's  service.  His  prayer  was,  as  he  worded  it  in 
correspondence  with  a  friend — "  May  he,  who  ordered 
Peter  three  times  to  feed  his  lambs,  give  me  grace, 
knowledge,  and  skill,  to  watch  and  attend  to  the  flock 
xvhich  he  purchased  upon  the  cross,  and  to  give  rest  to 
those  who  are  under  the  burden  of  sin  or  sorrow  !  It 
hath  pleased  God  to  call  me  to  the  ministry  in  very 
troublesome  times  indeed  ;  when  a  lion  and  a  bear  have 
broken  into  the  fold,  and  are  making  havoc  among  the 
sheep.  With  a  firm,  though  humble  confidence  do  I 
purpose  to  go  forth ;  not  in  my  own  strength,  but  in 
the  strength  of  the  Lord  God  ;  and  may  he  prosper  the 
work  of  my  hands.'-' 

From  the  very  commencement  of  his  ministry,  he 
rendered  himself  distinguished  as  a  preacher,  and  by  his 
evident  sincerity  and  earnestness,  recommended  by  an 
unaffected  flowing  style,  and  graceful  elocution,  ac- 
quired a  popularity  not  only  among  those  who  favored 
his  peculiar  opinions,  but  among  persons  of  every  sen- 
timent and  class,  which  lasted  during  life.  His  fertile 
mind  supplied  him  abundantly  with  apt  illustration  and 
beautiful  imagery,  while  his  good  sense  prevented  the 
abuse  of  stores  so  easily  misapplied,  and  preserved  a 
characteristic  plainness  and  simplicity  even  in  his  most 
ornamented  discourses.  But  the  Christian  humility  and 
zeal  which  breathed  in  every  line,  was,  and  yet  is,  their 
greatest  charm.  He  wrote  as  one  constrained  by  the 
love  of  Christ,  living  not  to  himself,  but  to  Him  who 
died  for  all !  He  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  of 
salvation,  and  transmitted  it,  unalloyed,  to  those  whom 
it  fell  to  his  lot  to  teach. 

The  first  three  years  of  his  ministerial  course  appear 
to  have  been  spent  in  the  quiet  seclusion  of  college-life, 
occupied  in  studies  appropriate  to  his  profession, °  and 


in  the  second  volume  of  the  Scholar  Armed.  So  great  was  his  admira- 
tion of  that  learned  and  holy  man,  that  he  is  reported  to  have  said  '  he 
wished  no  higher  place  in  heaven  than  to  sit  at  Bishop  Andrews'  feet.' 
The  attraction  was  that  of  kindred  character. 

'  The  fruit  of  these  appeared  in  a  severe,  but  just,  reproof  of  the 
strange  vagaries  in  theology  compiled  by  Shuckford  in  the  supple- 
ment to  his  Connexions.-^ Spicilegium  Shuckfordianum ;  d^c.  13mo. 
LondoHj  1754. 

19* 


216  MEMOIR. 

in  the  regular  routine  of  university  preaching.?  That 
his  character  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  was  not  sunk 
in  that  of  a  mere  student,  is  evident  from  the  choice  of 
Dumas,  an  unhappy  criminal  then  under  sentence  of 
death  at  Oxford,  who  of  his  own  accord  requested  the 
attendance  of  Home,  and  received  his  conscientious 
attention  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  health,  which  was 
considerably  affected  for  a  length  of  lime  by  the  trying 
.scenes  of  that  most  distressing  branch  of  ministerial 
duty. 

In  1756  he  was  called  once  more  before  the  public  in 
vindication  of  his  Hutchinsonian  principles — ^or  rather, 
in  this  instance,  of  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Gospel 
wliich  he  had  preached,  in  the  University  or  elsewhere, 
with  faithfulness  and  zeal.  An  anonymous  attack,  in 
wliich  he  Avas  specified  by  name,'"'  gave  occasion  to  his 
Apology,'  a  production  which,  apart  from  the  actual 
merits  of  the  controversy,  did  him  great  credit  as  a 
scholar,  a  Christian,  and  a  clergyman.  He  had  been 
treated  with  insolence,  but  replied  with  Christian  for- 
bearance and  undisturbed  good  humor.  His  peculiar 
opinions  he  defended  with  readiness — his  friends  thought, 
with  triumphant  success ;  and  he  showed  satisfactorily 
that  they  had  been  merely  a  cover  for  the  real  object  of 
attack — the  truth  and  spirit  of  Christianity,  which  he  as 
successfully  maintained  v/ith  argument  that  to  this  day 
retains  its  interest  and  value. 

Notwithstanding  many  attempts  to  throw  odium  upon 
his  character,  as  a  propounder  of  some  strange  doctrine, 
and  a  disturber  of  the  public  harmony,  Home's  reputa- 
tion for  all  that  is  estimable  in  a  scholar  and  a  divine 


p  Three  occasional  sermons,  two  preached  before  the  Universitj',  ant! 
one  in  his  own  coilege,  were  pubUshcd  in  the  years  1755  and  175G. 

<»  A  Word  to  the  Hutchinsonians ;  or  Remarks  on  three  extraordi- 
nary Sermons,  lately  'preached  before  the  University  of  Oxford,  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Patten,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wethercl,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Home :  8vo.  This  pamphlet  was  attributed  to  Dr.  Kexnicott,  the 
celebrated  collator  of  the  Hebrew  Text  of  the  Old  Testament. 

'  An  Apology  for  certain  gentlemen  in  the  University  of  Oxford, 
aspersed  in  a  late  anonymous  Pamphlet ;  tcith  a  short  postscript  con- 
r-erning  another  pamphlet  lately  published  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Heath- 
rote  :  8vo.  Oxford,  1758.  Ralph  Heathcote,  a  disciple  of  the  War- 
burtonian  school,  had  published  a  pamphlet  of  considerable  bulk,  a  pro 
fessed  attack  on  the  Hutchinsonians,  It  received  a  special  answer  from 
Or.  Patten,  against  whoai  it  had  been  more  particularly  directed. 


MEMOIR.  217 

grew  daily.  In  1758  he  was  chosen  Junior  Proctor  of 
the  University — an  office  of  trust  and  honor,  and  when, 
after  an  exemplary  discharge  of  its  duties,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  contracted  a  dangerous  illness,  his  term  of 
office  had  expired,  he  received  a  public  compliment  of 
the  most  gratifying  nature.  He  was  yet  ill,  and  unable 
to  resign  at  the  tJniversity  meeting  in  person.  The 
officer  whose  place  it  was  to  state  the  fact,  (Dr.  Thiir- 
low,  afterward  Bishop  of  Durham,)  did  so  as  follows  ; 
"  As  for  the  late  Proctor,  I  shall  speak  of  him  but  in 
few  words,  for  the  truth  of  which  I  can  appeal  to  all 
that  are  here  present.  If  ever  virtue  itself  was  visible 
and  dwelt  upon  earth,  it  was  in  the  person  who  this  day 
lays  dawn  his  office :"  and  so  well  did  the  public  opinion 
accord  with  this  high  eulogy,  that  it  was  received  with 
universal  clapping  !  At  this  time  (April  27th,  1759,)  he 
took  the  degree  of  Bachelor  in  Divinity. 

The  next  year  found  him  engaged  in  a  controversy 
which  at  that  time  produced  more  noise,  but  possessed 
less  abiding  interest,  than  its  predecessor.  Dr.  Ken- 
NicoTT  had  issued  proposals  for  a  new  and  very  com- 
plete collation  of  all  the  extant  manuscripts  of  the  He- 
brew Scriptures,  and  to  show  the  necessity  of  the 
measure,  had  published  two  bulky  volumes  by  the  title 
of  Dissertations  on  the  State  of  the  Hebrew  Text. 
ttorne  and  several  of  his  friends  had  been  displeased 
with  the  spirit  of  these  works,  and  were  suspicious  of 
the  design  itself,  which  they  were  intended  to  support. 
They  feared  an  ultimate  intention  to  introduce  a  new 
Socinianized  version  of  the  Scriptures,  and  an  injurious 
effect  of  the  whole  proceeding  upon  the  standing  of  the 
sacred  text ;  while  they  thought  that  Dr.  Kennicott's 
writings  indicated  a  wish  to  find  the  text  corrupt,  and 
that  his  labors  tended  to  produce  an  undue  regard  for 
literal  criticism  to  the  neglect  of  the  true  study  of  the 
Scriptures  as  the  source  of  spiritual  knowledge.  In  some, 
at  least,  of  their  suspicions,  they  were  wrong  ;  and 
time  has  proved  that  their  fears  were  groundless : 
nevertheless,  we  cannot  but  honor  the  manly  zeal  and 
boldness  with  which  Home  stepped  forth  to  oppose,  (in 
a  spirited  tract,*)  what  he  deemed  a  measure  threatening 


A  View  of  Mr.  Kennicott's  Method  of  correcting'  the  Hebretc 


218  MEMOIR. 

evil  to  the  Word  and  Church  of  God.  Still  less  can 
we  withhold  the  award  of  admiration  from  the  Christian 
spirit  with  which,  when  his  efforts  had  proved  fruitless,* 
he  not  only  acquiesced  in  quietness,  but  actually  con- 
tracted a  friendship  with  the  man  whom  he  had  opposed, 
lived  in  the  interchange  of  every  kind  office  with  him, 
and  left  an  hereditary  intimacy  to  his  family. 

Collegiate  offices  and  controversy  did  not  wholly  en- 
gross the  time  of  Home,  during  this  interval.  His 
Considerations  on  the  Life  and  Death  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist, one  of  the  most  engaging  devotional  works  in  our 
language,  were  delivered  before  the  University  in  the 
form  of  lectures,  on  the  annual  returns  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist's  Day,  from  1755  to  1762;  though  first  pub- 
lished in  1772.  His  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  also, 
the  work  by  which  he  will  be  known,  and  for  which  his 
memory  will  be  loved  and  honored,  as  long  as  pure 
devotion  and  the  most  exalteds  piritual  attainments  can 
command  attention,  was  commenced  in  1758.  "The 
work"  he  then  wrote  to  his  friend  and  biographer  "  de- 
lights me  greatly,  and  seems,  so  far  as  I  can  judge  of 
my  own  turn  and  talents,  to  suit  me  the  best  of  any  I 
can  think  of.  May  he  who  hath  '  the  keys  of  David' 
prosper  it  in  my  hand  ;  granting  me  the  knowledge 
and  utterance  necessary  to  make  it  serviceable  to  the 
Church  !"  It  was  in  hand  nearly  twenty  years.  On  it 
he  concentered  all  his  studies,  and  bestowed  the  most 
assiduous  pains,  as  well  to  exclude  whatever  might  be 
unnecessary  or  hurtful,  as  to  perfect  his  design.  Of 
his  scheme  of  interpretation  there  have  been,  and  will 
be,  different  opinions :  of  the  practical  tendency  and 
value  of  the  book  there  can  be  but  one — that  it  is  among 
the  best  companions  for  the  Christian  in  the  closet  or 
the  parlor,  a  manual  for  his  devotions  and  guide  for 
meditation.  The  first  edition,  in  two  volumes  in  quarto, 
was  published  in  1776,  and  five  other  editions  attested 
its  popularity  before  the  conclusion  of  the  century. 


Text,  with  three  Queries  formed  thereupon,  and  humbly  submitted 
to  the  Christian  World.  8vo.  Oxford. 

'  Dr.  Kennicott  succeeded  in  procuring  a  liberal  subscription  for 
the  effectuation  of  his  design.  His  splendid  edition  of  the  Hebrew 
Text,  with  a  very  large  (though  still  incomplete)  collection  of  various 
readings,  appeared  in  two  folio  volumes,  1776,  1780. 


MEMOIR, 


219 


Several  single  sermons,  and  a  pamphlet  on  the  sub- 
ject of  a  'projected  reformation  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land,' by  our  author,  had  appeared  in  the  interval 
between  the  year  1760  and  1776.  He  had  also,  in  the 
same  interval,  been  admitted  to  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity  in  1764 ;  elected  President  of  his  college, 
in  1768,  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Jenner ;  married  to  the 
daughter  of  Philip  Burton,  Esq.  in  the  same  year  ;  and 
advanced  to  a  royal  chaplaincy,  in  1771. 

In  1776,  he  was  chosen  to  the  Vice-chancellorship  of 
the  University ;  a  dignity  which  he  retained  until  his 
preferment  to  the  Deanery  of  Canterbury,  in  1781.  In 
the  next  year,  his  Letter  to  Dr.  Adam  Smith,  though 
published  anonymously,  procured  him  new  celebrity, 
and  proved  his  talents  in  attack  to  be  fully  equal  to 
those  which  he  had  already  displayed  so  often  in  de- 
fence. This  was  succeeded  by  a  collection  of  sermons, 
in  two  volumes,  published  in  1779,  and  by  several  occa- 
sional  sermons,  appearing  at  intervals  from  1780  to 
1784. 

The  Letters  on  Infidelity  then  came  out,  anony- 
mously, but  with  no  studied  concealment  of  the  author, 
in  1784.  Home  was  at  that  time  residing  alternately  at 
Oxford  and  Canterbury,  beloved  and  respected  by  large 
circles  of  acquaintances  in  both  places,  and  preaching 
frequently ;  at  Oxford,  in  his  old  station,  the  University 
pulpit,  whence  a  very  large  proportion  of  his  published 
discourses  were  delivered ;  and  at  Canterbury,  in  the 
Cathedral  Church.  A  sermon  on  the  '  Antiquity,  Use, 
and  Excellence  of  Church  Music'  preached  in  the  latter 
place,  on  occasion  of  the  opening  of  a  new  organ,  in 
1784:  and  another  recommending  Sunday  Schools, 
preached  in  one  of  the  parish  churches  of  Canterbury, 
in  1785  ;  deserve  especial  notice,  as  illustrations  of  the 
author's  turn  of  mind  :  the  latter,  also,  as  entitling  him 
to  a  place  among  the  earliest  advocates  of  the  noblest 
institution  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  that  at  a  time 
when  the  dignified  and  influential,  and  in  too  many 
instances  even  the  pious  and  benevolent,  were  either 
ashamed  or  afraid  to  avow  themselves  defenders  of  the 
novel  scheme. 

A  Visitation  Sermon  preached  before  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  in  1786,  on  the  Duty  of  Contending  for 


320 


MEMOIR. 


the  Faith ;  and  a  discourse,  occasioned  by  the  contro- 
versies of  the  times,  on  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  which 
was  printed  together  with  i.t ;  were  the  next  publications 
of  Dr.  Home,  and  are  among  the  most  useful  of  his 
works,  having  been  almost  immediately  adopted  as  tracts 
for  circulation  by  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge,  and  widely  distributed  both  by  ity  and  by 
similar  societies  in  our  own  country. 

Not  content  with  thus  standing  forth  as  a  defender 
of  the  faith,  Home,  at  that  time,  seriously  meditated  a 
direct  attack  upon  the  heresiarch  Priestley,  whose 
versatile  talents,  indefatigable  industry,  and  consum- 
mate  impudence,  had  made  him  conspicuous  as  the  Go- 
liath of  perverted  Christianity.  Of  this  he  gave  notice 
in  an  advertisement  appended  to  the  Visitation  Sermon, 
and  actually  entered  into  a  joint  examination  of  the  sub- 
ject, in  connexion  with  his  old  friend  and  fellow  stu- 
dent, Jones. '^  The  design  was  prosecuted  with  gradu- 
ally declining  vigor,  for  several  years,  and  then,  in  con- 
sequence of  increasing  business  and  infirmities,  wholly 
dropped.'' 

This  was  his  last  literary  undertaking  of  any  import- 
ance. A  single  occasional  sermon,  and  a  pamphlet  on 
that  fertile  theme.  The  Case  of  the  Dissenters,  with 
reference  to  the  Corporation  and  the  Test  Acts,  were 
all  that  followed,  with  the  exception  of  a  '  Charge  in- 
tended to  have  been  delivered  at  his  Primary  Episcopal 
Visitation,'  and  a  third  volume  of  Select  Discourses, 
with  the  publication  of  which  he  was  amused  and  so- 
laced under  the  infirmities  that  brought  him  to  his  grave. 

The  last  public  aflair  in  which  he  was  engaged  was 
a  work  of  Christian  charity  and  zeal  for  the  interests  of 
Christ's  Church.     The  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland, 

'  Home's  earliest  theological  studies  had  been  bestowed  in  assisting 
Jones  in  the  composition  of  his  excellent  Answer  to  the  Essay  on 
Spirit.  In  allusion  to  this,  he  wrote  in  1786:  "  You  sec  the  task  I 
have  undertaken.  It  is  undertaken  in  confidence  of  your  friendly  aid  r 
and  I  should  be  happy,  as  we  began  together  with  Clayton,  if  we 
might  end  together  with  Priestley." 

^  It  was  not,  however,  entirely  without  fruit.  The  Letter  to  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Priestley  by  an  Under graduaie,  which  appeared  anony- 
mously in  1786,  a  jeu  d'  esprit  very  similar  to  the  Letter  to  Adam 
Smith,  was  the  production  of  the  same  fertile  pen.  It  reached  a  second 
issdition  the  very  year  of  its  publication. 


MEMotU.  221 

ill  consequence  o£  ha-rhig  long  refused  the  transfer  of 
allegiance  involved  in  the  revolution  of  1688,  lay  under 
civil  disabilities  and  restraints,  amounting,  in  effect,  to 
grievous  persecution.  The  cause  of  their  misfortunes 
had  gradually  worn  away,  and  was  at  length  utterly 
extinguished,  by  the  death  of  the  last  branch  of  the 
house  of  Stuart,  in  1788.  That  the  removal  of  the 
penalty  might  follow  the  cessation  of  the  cause,  as  was 
just,  they  made  immediate  application  to  Parliament, 
for  full  and  free  toleration  of  their  rites  and  worship, 
and  for  that  purpose,  three  of  their  bishops  visited  Eng- 
land in  1789.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  a  parliament 
bound  to  protect  an  Episcopal  Church  by  law  establish- 
ed in  England,  could  not  be  prevailed  on  even  to  tole- 
rate the  very  same  Church  in  the  sister  kingdom  !  The 
Scottish  bishops  met  with  unexpected,  and,  for  the  time, 
insurmountable  difficulties.  In  the  midst  of  these,  they 
received  from  Home,  while  yet  only  Dean  of  Canter- 
bury, every  kind  attention  and  material  service  which  it 
was  in  his  power  to  render — not  from  mere  favor ;  still 
less  from  ostentatious  willingness  to  patronise;  but 
from  conscientious  desire  to  procure  for  a  pious  and 
oppressed  people  their  just  rights.^ 

'  "  He  had  considered,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as,a  pure  and  primi- 
tive constitution  of  the  Church  of  ChrisTj  when  viewed  apart  from 
those  outward  appendages  of  worldly  power,  and  worldly  protection, 
which  are  sometimes  mistaken,  as  if  they  were  as  essential  to  the  being 
of  the  Church,  as  they  are  useful  to  its  sustentation.  The  history  of  the 
Christian  Church,  in  its  early  ages,  is  a  proof  of  the  contrary ;  when  it 
underwent  various  hardships  and  sufferings  from  the  fluctuating  policy 
of  earthly  kingdoms.  And  the  same  happened  to  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  Scotland,  at  the  Revolution  in  1688 ;  when  Episcopacy  was  abolish- 
ed by  the  State,  and  the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  government  estab- 
lished. By  this  establishment  the  bishops  were  deprived  of  their 
jurisdiction,  and  of  all  right  to  the  temporalities  of  their  sees.  But  in 
this  forlorn  state  they  still  continued  to  exist,  and  to  exercise  the  spirit- 
ual functions  of  their  episcopal  character  :  by  means  of  which,  a  regu- 
lar succession  of  bishops,  and  episcopally-ordained  clergymen,  has  been 
kept  up  in  Scotland,  under  all  the  disadvantages  arising  from  a  suspi- 
cion of  their  being  disaffected  to  the  Crown,  and  attached  to  the  interest 
of  an  exiled  family. 

"  The  penal  laws  had  reduced  the  Scotch  Episcopal  Church  to  a  con- 
dition so  depressed  and  obscure,  that  it  could  scarcely  be  known  to 
exist,  but  by  such  persons  as  were  previously  acquainted  with  its  his- 
tory. Among  these,  none  entered  more  willingly  and  warmly  than  the 
then  good  Dean  of  Canterbury.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  arrival  of 
the  Scotch  Bishops  at  London,  he  was  anxious  to  let  them  know  how 


222  MEMOIR* 

In  1790,  Home's  promotion  to  the  bishopric  of  Nof^ 
wich  gave  him  additional  influence  and  opportunity  of  use- 
fulness— though  at  a  time  when  his  rapidly  faiHng  health 
precluded  the  expectation  of  his  living  long  to  enjoy 
them,  or  doing  much  in  the  short  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  took  his  seat  in  the  house  of  Lords  in  the  spring  of 
the  ensuing  year,  and  renewed  his  efforts  in  behalf  of 
the  Scottish  Church.  But  the  more  appropriate  duties 
of  his  oflice,  the  visitation  of  his  diocese  and  instruc- 
tion of  his  clergy  in  an  episcopal  charge,  he  was  unable 
to  perform.  The  charge  was  written  and  printed,  but 
never  delivered  ;  the  visitation  was  begun,  but  never 
finished.  He  died,  during  a  visit  to  Bath  for  the  benefit 
of  the  waters,  of  a  paralytic  stroke,  January  17th,  1792. 
His  death  was  as  his  life ;  the  placid  resignation  to  his 
Maker  and  Redeemer  of  a  soul  accustomed  to  commu- 
nion with  Him  v/as  made  with  as  perfect  cheerfulness, 
and  as  little  perturbation,  as  attend  the  most  ordinary 
transaction  of  life  :  '  he  knew  in  whom  he  had  believed,' 
and  after  having  partaken  of  the  memorials  of  his  dying 
love,  breathed  out  his  soul  with  the  expression  "  Now  I 
am  blessed  indeed !" 


heartily  lie  approved  of  the  object  of  their  journey,  and  kindly  offered 
every  assistance  in  his  power  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  happy  conclu- 
sion. He  paid  them  every  mark  of  attention  both  at  London  and  Ox- 
ford ;  and,  when  they  set  out  on  their  return  to  Scotland,  without  hav- 
ing attained  their  object,  he  expressed,  in  very  affectionate  terms,  his 
concern  at  their  disappointment,  and  told  them  at  parting,  not  to  be  dis- 
couraged ;  for,  said  he,  '  your  cause  is  good,  and  your  request  so  rea- 
sonable, that  it  cannot  long  be  denied.' 

"  In  February,  1791,  after  having  taken  his  seat  in  the  House^  of 
Lords  as  Bishop  of  Norwich,  he  wrote  a  friendly  letter  to  Bishop  Skin- 
ner of  Aberdeen,  assuring  him  and  the  other  members  of  the  Commit- 
tee for  managing  the  business  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland, 
that  any  help  in  his  power  should  be  at  their  service  :  and  speaking  of 
their  applying  anew  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  he  said,  '  It  grieved 
him  to  think  they  had  so  much  heavy  work  to  do  over  again  ;  but  busi- 
ness of  that  sort  required  patience  and  perseverance.' 

"  It  was  said,  about  this  time,  that  the  Lord  Chancellor,  Thurlow, 
withheld  his  consent  to  the  Scotch  Episcopal  Bill,  till  he  should  be 
satisfied  by  some  of  the  EngUsh  prelates,  that  there  really  were  bishops 
in  Scotland.  When  Bishop  Home  was  waited  upon  with  this  view, 
by  the  Committee  of  the  Scotch  Church,  and  one  of  them  observed, 
that  his  lordship  could  assure  the  Chancellor  they  were  good  bishops, 
ho  answered,  with  his  usual  affability  and  good  humor,  '  Yes,  sir,  much 
better  bishops  than  I  am.'  " — Jones'  Life  of  Home,  p.  118-I&3. 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 


Let  no  reader  take  offence,  though  the  subjects  de- 
bated in  the  following  pages  be  of  a  serious  nature,  if 
the  ideas  and  images  employed  should  sometimes  bor- 
der upon  the  ludicrous.  The  contest  between  Elijah 
and  the  votaries  of  Baal,  was  a  very  serious  one  ;  and 
heaven  itself  interposed  in  its  decision.  Yet  strong  and 
pointed  is  the  irony  of  the  prophet — "  Cry  aloud,  for  he 
is  a  god  ;  either  he  is  talking,  or  he  is  pursuing,  or  he 
is  in  a  journey,  or  peradventure  he  sleepeth,  and  must 
be  awaked!"^  Impiety  provokes  a  frown;  absurdity 
occasions  a  smile ;  and  many  who  glory  in  the  imputa- 
tion of  the  former,  cannot  but  feel  when  they  are  con- 
victed of  the  latter.  Some  opinions  and  arguments 
become  visible  on  being  stated.  A  portrait  is  sufficient ; 
a  caricature  needless,  perhaps  impossible.  Where  sucli 
is  not  the  case,  nothing,  it  is  hoped,  has  met  with  this 
treatment,  unless  proved  to  deserve  it.  Ridicule  is  not 
the  test  of  truth,  because  truth  must  always  be  the  test 
of  ridicule ;  and  he  who  laughs  in  the  wrong  place,  ex- 
poses no  character,  except  his  own.  But,  as  the  learned 
and  ingenious  Dr.  Ogilvie  has  well  observed,  "He 
who  can  fairly  turn  the  laugh,  when  it  has  been  raised 
against  him,  will  be  pardoned  readily,  provided  he  has 
laughed  in  good  humor.'"' 


»  1  Kings  xviii.  27.         ^  Inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  Infidelity 
and  Skepticism  of  the  Times,  p.  445. 


Vol.  v.— 20 


LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY. 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER. 
To  W.  S.)  Esq. 

Dear  Sir, — You  express  your  surprise,  that  after 
the  favorable  manner  in  which  the  Letter  of  Dr.  Smith 
was  received  by  the  public,  and  the  service  which,  as 
you  are  pleased  to  say,  was  effected  by  it,  nothing  fur- 
ther should  have  been  attempted  ;  especially  as  an 
Apology  for  the  Life  of  David  Hume,  Esq.,  made  its 
appearance  soon  afterwards,  and  some '  posthumous 
tracts  of  that  philosopher  have  been  since  published, 
to  complete  the  good  work  he  had  so  much  at  heart ; 
not  to  mention  other  productions  on  the  side  of  infi- 
delity. A  few  strictures  on  the  nature  and  tendency, 
the  principles  and  reasonings,  of  such  performances, 
thrown  out  from  time  to  time,  in  a  concise  and  lively 
way,  you  observe,  are  better  calculated  to  suit  the  taste 
and  turn  of  the  present  age,  than  long  and  elaborate 
dissertation  ;  and  you  see  no  reason  why  a  method 
practised  by  Voltaire  (and  so  much  commended  by 
D'Alembert)  against  religion,  should  not  be  adopted 
by  those  who  write  for  it.  In  compliance  with  these 
hints,  and  that  you  may  not  think  me  desirous  of  lead- 
ing an  idle  life,  when  there  is  so  much  Avork  to  be  done, 
I  have  formed  a  resolution  to  look  over  my  papers,  and 
address  what  I  may  happen  to  find  among  them  to  your- 
self, in  a  series  of  letters  ;  a  species  of  composition  much 
in  vogue,  and  which  has  these  two  advantages  to  recom- 
mend it,  that  it  admits  of  matter  however  miscellaneous, 
and  may  be  continued  or  broken  off  at  pleasure. 


LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  826 


LETTER  I. 

I  BEGIN,  dear  sir,  with  a  few  observations  on  the 
Apology  for  the  Life  and  Writings  of  David  Hume, 
Esq.,  drawn  up  soon  after  that  work  came  out,  but 
reserved  in  expectation  of  Mr.  Hume's  posthumous 
tracts. 

With  difficulty  I  am  able  to  persuade  my  friends, 
that  this  author  and  myself  have  not  written  in  concert ; 
for  his  Apology  and  my  Letter  fit  each  other  like  two 
tallies.^  In  his  dedication,  he  expresses  his  appre- 
hension, "  that  the  Christian  clamor  would  be  raised 
afresh."  A  clamor  is  accordingly  raised  by  "  ONE  of 
the  people  called  Christians."  Elsewhere  he  inti- 
mates his  expectations  that  Mr.  Hume's  '  affectionate 
Dr.  Smith'  would  come  in  for  his  share.  A  letter  is 
accordingly  written  to  that  very  doctor. 

You  see,  dear  sir,  how  I  have  done  my  best  to  fulfil 
his  predictions.  Let  us  now  inquire  whether  he  may 
not  have  returned  the  favor,  and  been  equally  kind  to 
me. 

In  my  Aavcitiociueiii  I  veniured  to  suppose,  that,  by 
a  late  publication,  the  admirers  of  Mr.  Hume  imagined 
religion  to  have  received  its  coup  de  grace,  and  that  the 
astonished  public  was  utterly  at  a  loss  to  conceive 
*  what  they  who  believed  in  God  could  possibly  have  to 
say  for  themselves.'  To  convert  my  supposition  into 
matter  of  fact,  he  opens  his  Apology  with  a  kind  of 
funeral  oration,  most  solemnly  pronounced  over  Chris- 
tianity as  a  breathless  corpse,  about  to  be  interred  for 
ever  in  the  grave  of  Mr.  Hume. 

'  David  Hume  is  dead !  Never  were  the  pillars  of 
orthodoxy  so  desperately  shaken,  as  they  are  now  by 
that  event !'  And  at  p.  9,  he  speaks  of  '  the  particular 
circumstances  of  this  event'  as  'increasing  the  aggregate 
of  our  consternation  /' 

Here  the  distempered  imagination  of  the  Apologist 
sees  Mr.  Hume,  like  another  Samson,  bowing  himself 


"  The  Apology  was  written  before  the  publication  of  the  Letter, 
thouffh  sent  into  the  world  after  it. 


226  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  [LETTER  I. 

with  all  his  might  between  the  pillars^  and  slaying 
more  at  his  death  than  all  that  he  slew  in  his  life.  He 
sees  the  believing  world  aghast,  the  Church  tottering 
from  its  foundations,  and  Christians  assembling  in  an 
upper  chamber i  with  the  doors  shut,  for  fear  of  the  phi- 
losophers.  What  may  be  the  state  of  religion  upon 
earth,  before  the  end  shall  come,  we  cannot  tell.  We 
have  reason  to  think  it  will  be  very  bad.  But  let  us 
hope,  notwithstanding  all  which  has  happened  in  Scot- 
land, that  the  Gospel  will  last  our  time. 

Thus  again :  I  scrupled  not  to  assert,  that  the  end 
proposed  in  giving  an  account  of  Mr.  Hume's  life  and 
death,  was  to  recommend  his  skeptical  and  atheistical 
notions.  Dr.  Smith  indeed  was  wary  and  modest.  He 
gave  us  a  detail  of  circumstances,  and  then  only  added, 
that,  '  as  to  his  philosophy,  men  would  entertain  various 
opinions  ;  but,  to  be  sure,  all  must  allow  his  conduct  was 
unexceptionable,'  &c.  But  the  Apologist  has  blurted 
it  all  out  at  once. — David  Hume's  life  was  right,  and 
therefore  his  system  cannot  be  wrong.  My  friend  Dr. 
Smith  will  take  him  to  task  for  this,  as  sure  as  he  is 
ahve. 

And  now  for  another  piece  of  com.plaisance  on  my 

SlCle.         HlO    '  wiaKoo,     only  ov»t    <x£    ■onrincity,    fr»     tnoTxr   iKo 

unaffected  state  of  our  feelings,'  (p.  9,)  on  perusing  the 
account  given  by  Dr.  Smith, — As  if  I  had  been  privy  to 
his  thoughts,  the  wish  was  no  sooner  formed  than  grati- 
fied by  my  letter,  which  communicated  to  him  and  to  the 
public  the  state  of  our  feelings,  and  in  a  manner,  I  do 
assure  him,  perfectly  unaffected.  But  it  is  a  difficult 
matter  to  please  him  ;  for  now  he  hath  seen  -me,  he  doth 
not  like  me. 

At  the  close  of  his  Address,  he  tells  me,  that,  '  after 
accurately  examining  my  letter,  and  carefully  recon- 
sidering the  whole  subject  of  the  preceding  Apology  in 
consequence  of  it,  he  sees  no  occasion  to  alter  a  single 
sentence.'  Let  us  therefore  take  a  view  of  the  Apology, 
M^hich  is  pronounced  to  be  unaffected  by  it. 

'  It  is  less  the  design  of  these  papers  to  defend  Hume's 
principles,  than  to  show,  upon  the  best  authority,  that 
he  was  in  earnest  in  what  he  wrote ;  and  that,  through 
every  part  of  his  life,  even  to  the  very  moment  of  his 


LETTER  I.]  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  ^27 

death,  he  made  precept  and  practice  go  hand  in  hand 
tog  ether. '^ — (p.  11.) 

But  surely,  if  the  principles  are  not  to  be  defended; 
if  they  are  as  they  have  been  represented,  skeptical  and 
atheistical,  does  the  man  who  propagated  them  during  his 
life,  and  took  the  requisite  measures  that  they  should  be 
propagated  after  his  death — does  such  a  man  deserve 
commendation,  because  he  was  in  earnest?  An  apology 
of  this  kind  may  be  offered  in  behalf  of  every  felon  exe- 
cuted at  Tyburn,  provided  only,  that  by  '  dying  hard,' 
he  make  precept  and  practice  go  hand  in  hand  together. 
And  the  Apologist  very  judiciously  observes  as  much. 

'  Many  will,  indeed,  think  that  this,  however  perspi- 
cuously proved,  will  be  doing  him  no  real  honor ;  since, 
in  proportion  to  the  clearness  of  the  evidence  upon  this 
matter,  it  will  only  show  his  impiety  and  obstinate  infi- 
delity the  plainer  ;  thereby,  in  the  end,  incurring  upon 
him  a  more  general  disgrace.' — (p.  11.) 

Truly  he  has  hit  the  mark.  This  is  the  very  objec- 
tion, which  caused  a  friend  of  mine,  on  reading  his 
book,  to  say,  he  should  think  it  a  less  misfortune  to 
have  the  disgrace  of  hanging  incurred  on  him,  than  to 
have  such  an  apologist.  And  yet,  in  the  case  before 
us,  he  had  a  reason  for  making  this  Apology,  namely, 
that  there  was  no  other  to  be  made.  The  only  question 
is,  whether  it  might  not  have  been  better  if  he  had  said 
nothing,  and  suffered  things  to  take  their  chance  ? 
However  it  is  now  too  late.  The  objection  is  fairly 
stated,  and  we  all  stand  arrectis  auribus,^  in  expectation 
of  the  answer. — Lo,  it  comes — '  I  am  of  a  different 
opinion.  The  terms  infidelity,  impiety,  and  atheism, 
should  not  be  lavishly  trusted  from  the  lip.'  Such  a 
sentence  (by  the  way)  should  not  have  been  lavishly 
trusted  from  the  pen.     '  We  should  not  presume 

"  To  deal  damnation  round  the  land, 
On  each  we  deem  our  foe."  ' 

Sir,  your  very  humble  servant — I  most  heartily  wish 
;^ou  a  good  night, — Here  was  the  juguluin  causce,  the 
precise  point  to  be  argued,  over  which  I  hoped  to  have 
had  the  honor  of  his  good  company  for  the  evening. 


[With  open  ears.] 

20^ 


23S  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  V 

when  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  he  slips  through  my 
hands,  like  an  eel,  and  is  out  of  sight  in  the  mud. 

We  are  not  about  to  deal  damnation  on  any  man. 
But  are  there  not  such  things  as  infidelity,  impiety,  and 
atheism?  And  are  not  the  writings  of  Mr.  Hume  justly 
chargeable  with  them?     These  are  the  questions. 

The  Apologist  knows,  as  well  as  I  do,  that  Mr. 
Hume's  essays  contain  arguments  downright  Epicurean, 
against  the  being  of  a  God.  Some  of  them  are  men- 
tioned in  the  Summary,  at  the  end  of  the  Letter  to  Dr. 
Smith,  and  no  notice  is  taken  of  the  matter.  In  the 
Natural  History  of  Religion,  Dr.  Hurd  thought  our  phi- 
losopher was  approaching  towards  the  borders  oi  theism. 
But  I  never  could  find  that  he  penetrated  far  into  the 
country.  These  same  arguments  stand  to  this  hour 
unretracted;  the  essays  which  contain  them  are  pub- 
lished and  republished  with  the  rest;  whether  at  the  hour 
of  death,  he  thought  there  was  a  God  or  thought  there 
was  none,  we  have  not  a  single  hint  given  us  ;  and  con- 
cerning his  posthumous  papers,  the  Apologist''  informs 
us,  in  his  dedication,  '  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
they  turn  upon  similar  researches  with  such  as  liave 
been  already  printed  ;  or,  as  it  is  most  likely,  they  may 
carry  his  philosophy  still  nearer  to  that  point,  which 
he  might  not  think  it  discreet  to  push  too  vigorously^ 
in  his  lifetime.'  New  discoveries  in  irreligion,  then,  it 
seems,  still  remain  to  be  made.  They  M'ho  have  duly 
considered  the  vigor  displayed  by  Mr.  Hume  in  his 
lifetime,  are  rather  at  a  loss  to  conceive,  what  that 
POINT  may  be,  to  which,  by  posthumous  efforts,  his 
philosophy  is  to  be  carried.  It  must  lie  somewhere 
"  Beyond  the  realms  of  chaos  and  old  night  !" 

Discretion  is,  undoubtedly,  as  Sir  John  Falstaff  says,  the 
better  part  of  valor;  but  really  in  these  days  of  freedom, 
there  is  scarce  a  possibility  of  its  ever  being  called  for. 
Something,  however,  is  to  come,  which  the  Apologist 
supposes  will  occasion  more  Christian  clamor.  When 
we  are  so  severely  pushed,  he  imagines  we  shall  cry 
out.    Certainly,  it  cannot  be  thought  we  are  lavish  of  the 


"  These  have  since  been  published. — [The  Dialogues  concerning 
Natural  Religion  (certainly  not  the  least  objectionable  among  Humk's 
writings)  ia  the  work  in  question.] 


LETTER   II.]  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.  2^9 

terras  infidelity,  impiety,  and  atheism,  when  we  apply 
them  to  such  proceedings  as  these.  What  other  termsi 
can  we  apply,  or  would  he  himself  wish  us  to  apply  ?  And 
he  gravely  apologizes  for  their  author,  by  telling  us,  he 
was  consistent,  he  was  in  earnest,  he  died  as  he  lived, 
and  left  blasphemies  to  be  published  after  his  death, 
which  he  dared  not  to  publish  while  he  was  yet  alive  ! — 
Whom  shall  we  most  admire,  the  philosopher  or  his 
Apologist! 


LETTER  II. 

Our  Apologist  observes,  dear  sir,  *  Whatever  might 
be  the  force  of  Mr.  Hume's  faith,  no  one,  it  is  conjec- 
tured, will  charge  him  with  having  neglected  good  works. 
I  do  not  pretend  (adds  he)  to  say  how  far  those  are,  or 
are  not  sufficient.' — (p.  11.) 

Indeed  I  believe  there  will  be  no  absolute  necessity, 
upon  this  occasion,  of  going  deep  in  the  controversy, 
concerning  faith  and  works.  The  character  in  wiiich 
Mr.  Hume  principally  appeared,  and  on  Avhich  he  chiefly 
valued  himself,  was  that  of  an  author.  He  passed  his 
life  in  writing ;  the  effects  of  his  writing  are  visible  in 
his  worthy  apologist,  and  many  others;  they  are  likely 
to  go  down  to  posterity.  An  unwearied  endeavor  to 
propagate  the  principles  contained  in  those  writings,  is 
what  we  can  never  consent  to  dignify  with  the  appella- 
tion of  a  good  work.  To  worship,  to  love,  and  to  serve 
God  one's  self,  is  the  first  of  good  works;  to  teach  and 
incite  others  to  do  the  same,  is  the  second.  To  renounce 
every  thing  of  this  kind,  one's  self,  is  the  first  of  evil 
works  ;  and  the  second  is  like  unto  it,  to  tempt  and 
seduce  others,  that  they  may  fall  after  the  same  example 
of  imbelief.  This  is  the  employment  of  that  person 
whom  the  Apologist  mentions,  as  having  joined  with 
the  dancing-master,  ^\\(\  the  j^erfumer,  in  compounding 
a  system  of  manners,  recommended  by  the  late  Earl  of 
Chesterfield.^^  He  might  possibly  divert  himself  in  that 
way,  at  his  leisure  hours ;    but  when  he  set  to  business 

J '  A  system  which  seems  to  he  pillaged  from  the  dancing  master,  the 
perfumer,  and  the  devil.* — (p.  112.) 


230  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.         [LETTER  11. 

in  good  earnest,  the  issue  was,  An  Inquiry  concern- 
ing Human  Understanding. 

The  Apologist  is  fond  of  citing  two  lines,  which  have 
often  been  cited  by  others,  with  a  similar  view — 

For  modes  of  faith  let  graceless  zealots  fight," 
"His  can't  be  wrong,  whose  life  is  in  the  right." 

The  Christian's  faith,  at  its  first  appearance,  endured 
the  trial  of  ten  persecutions,  and  triumphed  over  the 
wit,  wisdom,  and  power  of  the  whole  Roman  empire. 
Offered  openly  to  the  inspection  and  examination  of  the 
world,  it  has  now  stood  its  ground  above  seventeen  hun- 
dred years.  The  Apologist  hardly  expects  it  should  at 
length  fall  before  a  couplet  of  Mr.  Pope.  Poets,  he 
knows,  are  not  upon  oath;  and 

^^ One  for  sense ^  and  one  for  rhyme/' 

is  often  a  fair  composition.  The  verses  rhyme  well ; 
but  as  to  sense,  that  is  another  question.  Their  au- 
thor somewhere  tells  us,  that  in  reading  religious 
controversy,  he  still  found  himself  to  agree  wdth  the 
last  author  he  perused.  One  cannot  therefore  well 
take  him  for  a  guide  in  these  matters.  The  bright 
son  of  the  morning  fell  from  his  exalted  station  in  the 
heavens;  and  he,  who  penned  "iV/es^zaA,"^  was  after- 
wards unfortunately  duped  by  the  sophistry  of  Boling- 
broke.     'Evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners.' 

As  to  the  verses  in  hand,  I  know  not  that  they  were 
designed  to  extend  by  any  means  so  far  as,  by  the  present 
application,  the  Apologist  means  to  extend  them.  If  they 
were,- the  proposition  contained  in  them  will  be  this,  that 
provided  a  man  discharge  the  relative  and  social  offices, 
it  matters  not  what  deity  he  acknowledges  and  worships, 
or  whether  he  acknowledge  and  worship  any. 

I  am  sorry  I  should  be  obliged  to  go  back  to  a  thing 
so  vulgar  and  antiquated  as  my  "  Catcchism.^^  But  so 
it  happens.  I  cannot  forget,  that  when  a  boy,  /  learned 
two  things — my  duty  towards  God,  and  my  duty  towards 
my  neighbor.  And,  from  that  day  to  this,  it  never  en- 
tered my  head,  that  the  performance  of  the  latter  would 
atone  for  the  neglect  of  the  former.  Surely  one  might 
as  well  say,  the  performance  of  \he  former  would  atone 
for  the  breach  of  the  latter.     But  the  Apologist  will 

•  [Pope's  celebrated  Eclogue,  so  entitled. 1 


LETTER  II.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  231 

never  allow  one ;  and  we  cannot  submit  to  allow  the 
other.  What!  Shall  we  make  a  conscience  of  dis- 
charging our  duty  to  men  like  ourselves,  and  none  of 
discharging  that  to  our  Maker,  our  Redeemer,  our 
God  ?  Is  it  reckoned  praiseworthy,  generous,  noble, 
great  and  good,  to  love  and  celebrate  an  earthly  parent 
or  benefactor  ;  and  can  it  be  deemed  a  point  of  indiffer- 
ence whether  we  believe  or  deny,  whether  we  bless  or 
blaspheme  our  heavenly  and  eternal  Father  and  Friend, 
who  gives  us  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things,  in  this 
world,  and  invites  us  to  a  far  more  happy  and  glorious 
state  of  existence  in  another?  May  we  adore  Jehovah, 
or  Baal ;  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  or  a  monkey,  or 
matter,  or  chance,  or  nothing,  as  the  whim  takes  us,  and 
be  blameless?  Tell  it  not  to  the  believers;  publish  it 
not  among  the  Christians  ! 

The  matter  of  fact  is — that  life  cannot  be  in  the  rights 
which  is  spent  in  doing  wrong.  And  if  to  question  all 
the  doctrines  of  religion,  even  to  the  providence  and 
existence  of  a  God,  and  to  put  morality  on  no  other 
foot  than  that  of  utility — if  to  do  this  be  not  wrong, 
then  farewell  all  distinction  between  right  and  wrong 
for  evermore.  To  maintain  and  diffuse  the  truth  of  God, 
is  to  do  his  will ;  to  deny,  corrupt,  or  hinder  it,  is  to 
work  iniquity ;  and  a  life  so  employed  is  a  vjicked  life — ■ 
perhaps  the  most  wicked  that  can  be  imagined.  For 
what  comparison  is  there  between  one  who  commits  a 
crime  of  which  he  may  repent,  or,  at  worst,  it  may 
die  with  him,  and  one  who,  though  he  do  not  himself 
commit  it,  teaches  and  encourages  all  the  world  to 
commit  it,  by  removing  out  of  the  way  the  strongest 
sanctions  and  obligations  to  the  contrary,  in  writings 
which  may  carry  on  the  blessed  work  from  generation 
to  generation  ?  Let  not  these  errors  be  called  errors  of 
speculation  only.  Action  flows  from  speculation.  No 
man  ventures  upon  sin,  till  he  has,  for^the  time  at  least, 
adopted  some  false  principle.  And  '  when  men  begin 
to  look  about  for  arguments,  in  vindication  of  impiety 
and  immorality,  such  speculations  as  those  of  Mr.  Hume 
become  interesting,  and  can  hardly  fail  of  a  powerful 
and  numerous  patronage.  The  corrupt  judge ;  the  pros- 
tituted courtier ;  the  statesman,  who  enriches  himself 
by  the  plunder  and  blood  of  his  country ;  the  pettifog' 


232  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.         [lETTER  II. 

ger,  who  fattens  on  the  spoils  of  the  fatherless  and 
widow ;  the  oppressor  who,  to  pamper  his  own  beastly 
appetite,  abandons  the  deserving  peasant  to  beggary 
and  despair ;  the  hypocrite,  the  debauchee,  the  game- 
ster, the  blasphemer — all  prick  up  their  ears,  when  they 
are  told  that  a  celebrated  author  has  written  essays 
containing  such  doctrines,  and  leading  to  such  conse- 
quences ?'  Weighed  against  a  conduct  like  this,  the 
moralities  of  social  life  (a  system  of  which,  by  the  way, 
according  to  Mr.  Hume,  every  man  is  left  to  compound 
for  himself )  are  dust  upon  the  balance;  they  are  like 
the  salutation  of  Joab  when  he  smote  Amasa  to  the 
heart :  '  And  Joab  said  to  Amasa,  Art  thou  in  health, 
my  brother  ?  And  Joab  took  Amasa  by  the  beard  with 
the  right  hand,  to  kiss  hi??!.  But  Amasa  took  no  heed 
of  the  sword  that  was  in  Joab's  hand ;  so  he  smote  him 
therewith  in  the  fifth  rib,  and  shed  out  his  bowels  to  the 
ground.''"  In  short,  if  faith  in  God  be  not  the  effect  of 
superstition  and  imposture,  which  no  man  has  yet 
proved  it  to  be,  we  are  bound  to  regard  it  as  our  most 
valuable  possession,  and  to  esteem  those  who  rob  the 
world  of  it  as  the  worst  of  thieves,  however  towards 
each  other  they  may  practice  what  the  Apologist  styles 
the  duties,  the  decencies,  and  the  charities. — (p.  13.) 

*  Perhaps  it  is  one  of  the  very  worst  circumstances 
against  Christianity,  that  very  few  of  its  professors  were 
either  so  moral,  so  humane,  or  could  so  pliilosophically 
govern  their  passions,  as  the  skeptical  David  Hume.' — 
(p.  12.) 

And  yet,  we  do  not  every  day  hear  of  a  Christian 
running  round  a  counter  with  his  drawn  sword  after  a 
Reviewer,  or  quitting  a  room  on  the  entrance  of  his 
antagonist.^  It  appears,  from  a  variety  of  instances, 
that  Mr.  Hume,  when  his  literary  character  was  con- 
cerned, could  by  no  means  '  govern  his  passion  so  phi- 
losophically'  as  his  Apologist  wishes  to  have  it  believed. 
But  it  is  not  my  desire  to  depreciate  any  thing  that 
might  be  really  commendable  in  him.  Thus  much  only 
I  will  venture  to  assert,  that  whatever  it  was,  the  merit 
of  it  is  not  due  to  his  philosophical  principles.  These 
afford  no  motives  to  restrain  men  who  have  once  em- 


f  2  Sam.  XX.  9.     ^  [Incidents  in  the  life  of  the  philosophical  Hume.] 


LETTFR  II.]  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  233 

braced  them,  from  any  vices  to  which  their  constitutions 
may  happen  to  incline.  It  is  too  much  for  the  same 
person  to  excel  in  every  branch.  It  is  enough  if  he 
point  the  way.  All  evil  beings  are  not  immoral.  Lord 
Chesterfield's  friend  himself,  roentioned  above,'  offends 
not  in  the  articles  of  eating,  wine,  or  women  :  he  is  dif- 
ferently employed.  He  is  employed  in  tempting-  others 
to  offend. 

The  Apologist  tells  us  "Mr.  Hume's  most  abstract 
researches  were  in  favor  of  a  behavior  perfectly  irre- 
proachable.— Whoever  is  acquainted  with  Mr.  Hume's 
writings  will  bear  witness  that  he  was  a  lover  of  de- 
cency, order,  and  decorum.  It  would  be  the  drudgery 
of  a  day  to  detect  a  single  light  sentence  in  Hume." 
(pp.  106.  110.) 

I  shall  transcribe  two  or  three  sentences  which  lie 
pretty  near  together,  in  a  Dialogue  subjoined  to  his 
Enquiry  into  the  Principles  of  Morals. 

"There  is  almost  as  great  difficulty,  I  acknowledge, 
to  justify  French,  as  Greek  gallantly  ;  except  only  that 
the  former  is  much  more  natural  and  agreeable  than  the 
latter.  But  our  neighbors,  it  seems,  have  resolved  ta 
sacrifice  some  of  the  domestic  to  the  sociable  pleasures  ; 
and  to  prefer  ease,  freedom,  and  an  open  commerce,  to 
a  strict  fidelity  and  constancy.  These  ends  are  both 
good,  and  are  sometimes  difficult  to  reconcile  ;  nor  need 
we  be  surprised,  if  the  customs  of  nations  incline  too 
much,  sometimes  to  the  one  side,  and  sometimes  to  the 
other.'"'  "  It  is  needle  ssto  dissemble  :  the  consequence 
of  a  very  free  commerce  between  the  sexes,  and  of  their 
living  much  together,  will  often  terminate  in  intrigues 
and  gallantry.  We  must  sacrifice  somewhat  of  the 
useful,  if  we  be  very  anxious  to  obtain  all  the  agreea- 
ble qualities ;  and  cannot  pretend  to  reach  alike  every 
kind  of  advantage.  Instances  of  license,  daily  multi- 
plying, will  weaken  the  scandal  with  the  one  sex,  and 
teach  the  other,  by  degrees,  to  adopt  the  famous  maxim 
of  La  Fontaine  with  regard  to  female  infidelity,  that 
if  one  knows  it,  it  is  but  a  small  7natter ;  if  one  knows 
it  not,  it  is  nothing.''''^       Verily,  as  Lord  Foppington 

i  [Satan,  scUicet.l  k  Essays  Vol.  II.  p.  397.  edit.  1112.  i  Essayt, 
Vol.  II.  p.  402. 


2i34  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  [LETTER  111. 

says  to  his  brother,  in  the  stage  play — A  nice  marali- 
TY,  Tam,  stap  my  vitals  ! 

When  we  consider  these  sentences  as  proceeding  from 
the  pen  of  '  the  first  philosopher  of  the  age,'  in  his 
palmary  and  capital  work,  designed  to  settle  the  princi- 
ples of  morality  on  their  only  proper  foundation,  *  it 
would  be  the  drudgery  of  a  month'  to  find  any  thing  in 
the  system  of  Chesterfield  and  his  three  associates,  '  the 
dancing  master,  the  perfumer,  and  the  devil,'  better  cal- 
culated to  multiply  new  connexions,  and  dissolve  old 
ones  ;  any  thing  that  so  much  deserves  the  profoundest 

acknowledgments  from the  gentlemen  of  doctors 

commons. 


LETTER  III. 

It  may  still,  perhaps,  be  asked,  dear  sir,  how  it  should 
happen,  that  when  Mr.  Hume's  principles  were  so  bad, 
his  practices  should  be  no  worse  ?  Let  me  offer  the  so- 
lution given  of  such  a  phenomenon  in  the  intellectual 
world,  by  a  very  ingenious  and  sagacious  writer,  who 
had  not  only  studied  mankind  in  general,  but,  as  it 
would  seem,  had  bestowed  some  pains  upon  the  very 
case  now  before  us. 

'  This  fact  hath  been  regarded  as  unaccountable  :  that 
sober  men,  of  morals  apparently  unblameable,  should 
madly  unhinge  the  great  principles  of  religion  and  so- 
ciety, without  any  visible  motive  or  advantage.  But  by 
looking  a  little  further  into  human  nature,  we  shall  easily 
resolve  this  seeming  paradox.  These  writers  are  gene- 
rally men  of  speculation  and  industry  ;  and  therefore, 
though  they  give  themselves  up  to  the  dictates  of  their 
ruling  passion,  yet  that  ruling  passion  commonly  leads 
to  the  tract  of  abstemious  manners.  That  desire  of 
distinction  and  superiority,  so  natural  to  men,  breaks 
out  into  a  thousand  various  and  fantastic  shapes  ;  and  in 
each  of  these,  according  as  it  is  directed,  becomes  a 
virtue  or  a  vice.  In  times  of  luxury  and  dissipation, 
therefore,  when  every  tenet  of  irreligion  is  greedily 
embraced,  what  road  to  present  applause  can  lie  so 
open  and  secure,  as  that  of  disgracing  religious  belief? 


LETTER  III.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  235 

especially  if  the  writer  help  forward  the  vices  of  the 
times,  by  relaxing  morals,  as  well  as  destroying /^rmcz- 
ple.  Such  a  writer  can  have  little  else  to  do,  but  to  new- 
model  the  paradoxes  of  ancient  skepticism,  in  order  to 
figure  it  in  the  world,  and  be  regarded  by  the  smatterers 
in  literature,  and  adepts  in  folly,  as  a  prodigy  in  parts 
and  learning.  Thus  his  vanity  becomes  deeply  crimi- 
nal, and  is  execrated  by  the  wise  and  good  ;  because  it 
is  gratified  at  the  expense  of  his  country's  welfare.  But 
the  consolation  which  degenerate  manners  receive  from 
his  fatal  tenets,  is  repaid  by  eager  praise  ;  and  vice  im- 
patiently drinks  in  and  applauds  his  hoarse  and  boding 
voice,  while,  like  a  raven,  he  sits  croaking  universal 
death,  despair,  and  annihilation  to  the  human  kind.' 

But  taking  the  account  of  Mr.  Hume's  manners  as  his 
friends  have  given  it,  to  say  '  that  few  of  the  professors 
of  Christianity  ever  equalled  him  in  morality,  humanity, 
and  the  government  of  their  passions,'  is  certainly  go- 
ing a  great  deal  too  far.  Thousands  in  the  first  ages  of 
the  Gospel,  gave  all  their  goods  to  feed  the  poor ;  re- 
nounced, in  deed  as  well  as  word,  the  world  and  the 
flesh,  and  joyfully  met  death  in  its  most  horrid  forms, 
for  the  love  of  their  Redeemer.  On  the  same  principle, 
unnumbered  multitudes,  in  every  succeeding  age,  have 
manfully  sustained  the  heaviest  calamities  of  human  life, 
and  with  faith  unfeigned,  and  hope  that  maketh  not 
ashamed,  yielded  up  their  souls  into  the  hands  of  their 
Creator.  Scenes  of  this  kind  are  daily  and  hourly 
passing  in  the  chambers  of  the  sick  and  dying,  as  they 
whose  office  it  is  to  visit  those  chambers,  well  know.  To 
others  they  must  remain  unknown,  for  want  of  biogra- 
phers to  record  them.     Every  Christian  who  lives  in 

piety  and  charity,  does  not  favor  the  public  with his 

OWN  LIFE."  Every  Christian,  who  expires  in  peace 
and  hope,  has  not  the  happiness  of  a  Dr.  Smith  to  pen 
the  story  of  his  death. 

"  Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene, 
The  dark  unfathom'd  caves  of  ocean  bear  ; 
Full  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  sv/eetness  on  the  desert  air. 

"  [Alluding  to  Hume's  curious  piece  of  self-commendation,  mentioned 
in  note  p.  119.] 
Vol.  v.— 21 


236  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  [LETTER  III. 

"  Far  from  the  madding  crowd's  ignoble  strife, 
Their  sober  wishes  never  learn' d  to  stray  ; 
Along  the  cool  sequester' d  vale  of  life, 
They  kept  the  noiseless  tenor  of  their  way." 

"Christianity,"  says  a  learned  writer,  "has,  in  every 
age,  produced  good  effects  on  thousands  and  ten  thou- 
sands, whose  lives  are  not  recorded  in  history ;  which 
is,  for  the  most  part,  a  register  of  the  vices,  the  follies, 
and  the  quarrels  of  those  who  made  a  figure  and  a  noise 
in  the  world  ;  insomuch  that  Socrates,"  at  the  close  of 
his  work,  observes,  that  if  men  were  honest  and  peace- 
able, historians  would  be  undone  for  want  of  mate- 
nals."p 

But,  whether  the  professors  of  a  religion  be  many  or 
few ;  whether  they  be  influenced  by  the  spirit  of  it,  or 
not;  whether  they  be  sincere,  or  hypocrites;  whether 
they  be  detected  or  undetected  ;  the  religion  is  still  the 
same  :  it  does  not  change  with  the  changing  tempers, 
dispositions,  and  interests  of  mankind,  in  different  times 
and  places  ;  nor  is  it  to  be  charged  with  the  guilt  of 
practices,  against  which  it  protests  in  every  page.  No 
demonstration  in  Euclid  can  be  clearer  than  this. 

To  account  for  the  opposition  often  so  visible  be- 
tween the  lives  and  the  opinions  of  Christians,  one  must 
enumerate  all  the  various  methods  by  which,  in  mat- 
ters of  moral  and  spiritual  concern,  men  are  wont  to 
impose  upon  themselves.  Appetite  and  passion,  sloth 
and  interest,  will  work  wonders  in  this  way — wonders, 
of  whicli  he  has  no  idea,  who  has  not  been  accustomed, 
with  this  view,  to  contemplate  the  conduct  of  those 
around  him,  and  impartially  to  scrutinize  his  own.  The 
religion  of  many  a  person  professing  Christianity,  is, 
by  these  means,  laid  by,  like  a  best  coat,  for  Sundays 
and  holidays.  Not  a  single  thought  occurs  of  the  ne- 
cessity there  is  for  its  being  brought  into  the  daily 
and  hourly  concerns  of  common  life.  It  is  a  specula- 
tive belief,  deposited  in  the  understanding,  to  which  its 
owner  recurs,  when  he  has  nothing  else  to  do  ;  he  finds 
it  where  he  left  it,  and  is  fully  satisfied  with  its  being 
there,  instead  of  bearing  it  about  him,  in  his  heart  and 


•  [The  ecclesiastical  historian. 1 

P  [JORTIN,  Remarks  on  Ecclesiastical  History,  I.  438,  ed.  1808.] 


LETTER  III.]         LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  237 

affections,  as  an  active  principle,  ready  for  use,  to  ope- 
rate at  all  seasons,  and  on  all  occasions.  He  will  even 
spend  his  days  in  discoursing  and  disputing  upon  the 
sublimest  doctrines,  and  most  holy  precepts  of  religion, 
his  own  life  still  continuing  unreformed.  Nay,  what  is 
yet  more  strange,  he  will  preach  seriously,  earnestly, 
affectionateh'^,  and  repeatedly,  against  a  failing,  to  which 
he  himself  is  notoriously  subject,  and  every  one  who 
hears  him  knows  him  to  be  so.  It  follows  not,  necessa- 
rily, that  he  is  designedly  playing  the  hypocrite,  and 
acting  a  part.  He  has  some  method  of  concealing  him- 
self from  himself,  or  of  excusing  himself  to  himself. 
He  does  not  see  that  he  is  the  person  against  whom  ail 
his  own  arguments  are  pointed.  He  does  not  think  of 
it.  He  stands  in  need  of  a  friend — or  an  enemy — to 
tell  him,  '  Thou  art  the  man.' — This  may  seem  to  be  a 
species  of  madness  ;  but  this  is  human  nature. 
Let  me  conclude  with  a  story. 

A  friend  of  mine  was  much  afflicted  with  a  dangerous 
disorder,  part  hereditary,  and  part  the  fruit  of  his  own 
industry.  He  sent  for  one  of  the  best  physicians  in  the 
kingdom,  who  having  discoursed,  greatly  to  his  satis- 
faction, on  the  excellency  of  medicine  in  general,  and  of 
a  medicine  proper  for  that  disorder  in  particular,  wrote 
his  prescription,  and  took  his  leave.  My  friend,  who 
was  a  scholar,  had  a  learned  gentleman  with  him  at  the 
time  ;  and  the  doctor  was  hardly  out  of  the  door,  before 
a  very  warm  controversy  began  between  them,  concern- 
ing the  style  of  the  prescription,  whether  it  were  das- 
sicaly  or  not.  This  and  the  virtues  of  the  medicine 
were  now  the  constant  subjects  of  my  friend's  conver- 
sation, and  he  inveighed  with  great  zeal  and  indignation 
against  the  folly  of  those,  who  would  languish  under 
disease,  when  there  was  such  a  remedy  to  be  had.  The 
distemper,  meanwhile,  increased  upon  himself,  and  be- 
gan to  seize  upon  the  vitals.  The  doctor  was  again  sent 
for  ;  and  knowing  his  patient  to  be  a  remarkably  absent 
man,  '  Pray,  sir,  said  he,  give  me  leave  to  ask  you  one 
question — have  you  taken  the  medicine  ?'  A  summons 
to  the  bar  of  judgment  could  hardly  have  astonished  my 
friend  more  than  this  question.  He  awoke  as  one  out 
of  a  dream,  and  very  honestly  owned, — He  had  been  so 
occupied  in  talking  and  writing  about  it,  and  recom« 


238  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  IV, 

mending  it  to  others,  that  he  had  really  quite  forgotten 
that  part  of  the  prescription.  He  did  indeed  recollect 
to  have  once  tasted  of  the  draught,  but  finding  it  rather 
bitter,  a  flavor  always  disagreeable  to  him,  he  had  set 
it  by  again,  trusting,  it  seems,  for  his  cure,  to  the  virtues 
which  might  escape  the  cork,  as  it  stood  upon  the  man- 
tel-piece.— You  see  how  easy  it  is  for  him  who  possesses 
the  medicine  to  be  like  him  who  possesses  it  not ;  the 
medicine  itself  continuing  all  the  while  perfectly  irre- 
proachable. 

And  now,  if  you  please,  dear  sir,  we  will  take  our 
leave  of  the  Apology ;  for  I  have  no  design  to  meddle 
with  the  farrago  of  extraneous  matter  which  it  contains, 
respecting  gallantry,  flattery,  dedications,  &c.,  &c., 
&c. ;  and  as  to  the  crude  and  angry  remarks  at  the 
end  of  it,  on  the  letter  to  Dr.  Smith — valeant  quantum- 
valere  possunt  /i  I  will  trust  any  man  with  them,  if, 
during  the  perusal,  he  will  only  hold  in  his  hand  the 
pamphlet  to  which  they  relate.  The  Apology  is,  indeed, 
both  for  matter  and  manner,  sentiment  and  language, 
so  mean  and  wretched  a  performance,  that  one  cannot 
sufiiciently  wonder  how  any  person,  accustomed  to 
write,  could  permit  such  a  piece  to  come  abroad,  with 
all  its  imperfections  on  its  head.  I  have  selected  those 
parts  which  afforded  room  for  enlarging  on  topics  use- 
ful to  be  discussed,  and  have  now  done  wdth  it  for 
ever. 


LETTER  IV. 

I  AM  truly  concerned,  dear  sir,  to  hear  that  your  old 
constitutional  complaint,  a  depression  of  spirits,  has  of 
late  been  more  than  usually  troublesome,  and  wish  I 
may  succeed  in  the  medicine  I  am  going  to  administer, 
if  not  for  the  removal,  at  least  for  a  temporary  allevia- 
tion of  it.  The  famous  Dr.  RadclifTe  was  once  called 
in  to  a  person  almost  suffocated  by  an  imposthumated 
swelling  in  the  throat.  The  case  required  immediate 
relief;  and  the  doctor  sent  his  servant  into  the  kitchen, 


1  [Let  them  pass  for  what  they  are  worth.] 


LETTER  IV.]         LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  239 

to  order  and  bring  up  a  large  hasty  pudding.  Upon  its 
arrival,  falling  into  a  violent  passion,  because  it  was  not 
made  to  his  mind,  he  flung  a  handful  of  it  in  the  fellow's 
face,  who  returned  the  compliment,  and  an  engagement 
ensued  between  them,  till  the  ammunition  was  all  spent. 
The  sick  man,  who  had  been  raised  in  his  bed  to  see 
the  battle,  was  forced  into  a  violent  fit  of  laughter ;  the 
imposthume  broke,  and  the  patient  recovered. 

In  the  present  case,  the  philosophy  contained  in  Mr. 
Hume's  posthumous  work,  styled  Dialogues  on  Natural 
Religion,  shall  be  our  hasty  pudding  ;  and  I  will  intro- 
duce a  couple  of  gentlemen  of  my  acquaintance,  to  toss 
a  little  of  it  backwards  and  forwards  for  your  enter- 
tainment.— May  the  eflect  prove  equally  salutary  ! 

A  DIALOGUE    BETWEEN  THOMAS    AND   TIMOTHY,    ON  PHI-^ 
LOSOPHICAL  SKEPTICISM. 

Timothy.  Whither  away  so  fast,  man  ?  Where  art 
thou  going  this  morning  ? 

Tom.     I  am  going  to  be  made  a  Christian. 

Tim.  The  very  best  thing  I  should  have  dreamed  of. 
But,  pray,  who  is  to  make  you  one  ? 

Tom.     David  Hume. 

Ti7n.  David  Hume  ?  Why,  I  thought  he  was  an 
atheist. 

To7n.  The  world  was  never  more  mistaken  about 
any  one  man,  than  about  David  Hume.  He  was  deemed 
a  sworn  foe  to  Christianity,  whereas  his  whole  life  was 
spent  in  its  service.  His  works  compose  altogether  a 
complete  Preparatio  Evangelica.''  They  lead  men 
gently,  and  gradually,  as  it  were,  to  the  Gospel. 

Tim.  As  how,  Tom  ?  Be  pleased  to  take  me  along 
with  you. 

Tom.  Why,  look  you ;  here  is  chapter  and  verse 
for  you.  Dialogues  concerning  Natural  Religion,  p. 
263.  '  To  be  a  philosophical  skeptic,  is,  in  a  man  of 
letters,  the  first  and  most  essential  3tep  towards  being  a 
sound  believing  Christian."* 

Tim.  When  David  was  at  Paris,  I  have  heard  the 
wits  there  should  say  he  was  a  very  worthy  gentleman» 


[Introduction  to  the  Gospel.] 
19* 


240  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [lETTER  IV, 

but  had  his  religious  prejudices,  like  other  people.  As 
folks  are  quick  scented  in  that  country,  perhaps  they 
smelled  a  rat.  Indeed,  in  a  Supplement  to  the  Life  of 
Mr.  Hume,  we  are  told  that  a  brother  of  his  used  to  say 
of  him,  '  My  brother  Davie  is  a  good  enough  sort  of  a 
man,  but  rather  narrow  minded.'' — Well,  I  cannot  tell 
what  to  say  to  it :  there  are  abundance  of  pretty  fancies 
stirring.  I  suppose  there  may  be  different  ways  of  be- 
coming a  Christian.  A  man  of  letters  enters,  belike, 
at  the  back  door,  and  so  goes  round  the  house  to  come 
at  it ;  a  compass  we  plain  folk  do  not  think  it  necessary 
to  take.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  if  skepticism  be  the 
road  to  Christianity,  Mr.  Hume  is  a  very  proper  person 
to  keep  the  tm-npike  gate  upon  it.  But  what  progress 
must  one  make,  if  one  had  a  mind  to  try  the  experiment, 
in  this  same  philosophical  skepticism,  before  one  could 
become  a  good  sound  believing-  Christian  ?  Must  one 
doubt  of  every  thing  ? 

To7n.  Of  every  thing,  in  this  world,  and  that  which 
is  to  come,  as  I  do  myself  at  this  present  speaking.  It 
is  the  most  agreeable  process  in  life ;  a  charming,  de- 
lightful suspense  of  judgment.  I  doubt  whether  there 
be  any  such  thing  as  matter ;  I  doubt  likewise  whether 
there  be  any  such  thing  as  spirit;  that  is,  I  doubt  whe- 
ther there  be  creature  or  Creator  ;  and  whether  I  myself 
am  any  thing  more  than  a  bundle  of  perceptions,  with- 
out eitiier  body  or  soul.  We  modern  philosophers,  you 
must  know,  consider  matter  and  spirit  as  so  much  lum- 
ber which  should  be  cleared  out  of  the  way.  There 
would  then  be  a  noble  field  open  for  speculation ;  and 
we  might  all  set  out  afresh.  I  doubt  whether  the  world 
(supposing,  for  a  moment,  that  there  is  one)  did  not  exist 
from  eternity,  or  whether  it  did  not  make  itself;  whe- 
ther it  be  not  a  huge  animal,  somewhat  like  an  ostrich, 
which  lays  now  and  then  an  egg,  to  be  hatched  into  a 
young  world  ;  or  whether  it  be  not  an  overgrown  vege- 
table run  to  seed.  'As  a  tree  sheds  its  seed  into  the 
neighboring  fields,  and  produces  other  trees ;  so  the 
great  vegetable  of  the  world,  or  this  planetary  system, 
produces,  perhaps,  within  itself  certain  seeds,  which, 
being  scattered  into  the  surrounding  chaos,  vegetate 
into  new  worlds.  A  comet,  for  instance,  is  the  seed  of 
a  world  ;  and  after  it  has  been  fully  ripened,  by  passing 


LETTER  IV.]   LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  241 

from  sun  to  sun,  and  star  to  star,  it  is  at  last  tossed  into 
the  unformed  elements  which  every  where  surround 
this  universe,  and  immediately  sprouts  up  into  a  new 
system.'* 

Tim:  Vastly  ingenious  !  and  really,  upon  the  whole, 
not  improbable  ! — But,  pry'thee  Tom,  if  you  are  not  in 
too  great  a  hurry  to  be  made  a  Christian,  do  stop  for 
half  an  hour,  and  instruct  me  a  little  further  in  this  New 
Week's  Preparation  of  Mr.  Hume :  for  the  specimen 
you  have  given  me  is  so  exquisite,  that  it  makes  my 
mouth  water  for  more.  What  is  the  plan  of  the  famous 
Dialogues  concerning  Natural  Religion  ? 

Tom.  You  shall  have  it  in  few  words. — Once  upon 
a  time,  then,  there  was  a  promising  young  man,  whose 
name  was  Pamphilus.  He  was  brought  up  by  a  philo- 
sopher called  Cleanthes.  Philo,  a  brother  philosopher, 
came  to  spend  a  few  days  with  Cleanthes.  The  Dla- 
logues  are  supposed  to  contain  the  substance  of  a  con- 
versation which  passed  between  these  personages,  by 
way,  among  other  things,  of  preparing  young  Pam- 
philus in  a  proper  manner  for  the  reception  of  the 
Gospel,  by  first  making  him  a  thorough  skeptic.  Pam- 
philus, who,  as  a  hearer  only,  was  to  learn  and  be  wise, 
relates  this  conversation  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Her- 
mippus.  There  is  a  third  speaker  in  the  Dialogues, 
styled  Demea,  one  of  your  old  fashioned  orthodox  gen- 
try, who  both  firmly  believes  the  existence  of  a  Deity, 
and  is  rather  disposed  to  speak  well  than  ill  of  his 
Maker.  But  the  two  philosophers  so  astonish  and  dis- 
compose him,  draw  him  into  so  many  ambuscades,  and 
raise  so  thick  a  metaphysical  dust  around  him,  that  at 
the  close  of  the  eleventh  Dialogue,  the  old  gentleman  is 
glad  to  take  a  French  leave,  and  vanishes  so  very  sud- 
denly, that,  whether  he  went  out  at  the  door,  or  up 
the  chimney,  nobody  knows  to  this  hour.  It  would 
do  your  heart  good  to  see  the  fun  they  make  of  him. 

Tim.  Before  you  go  any  further,  let  me  just  ask  you 
one  question.  Pray,  do  you  act  upon  this  principle  of 
philosophical  skepticism  in  common  life  ? 

Tom.  Oh,  by  no  means.  If  we  did,  we  should  walk 
into  a  horsepond,  or  run  our  heads  against  a  wall,  and 


Hume's  Dialogues,  p.  132. 


242  LETTERS  ON  INFIDF.LITY.   [LETTER  IV. 

the  boys  would  laugh  at  us.  '  No,  no,  to  whatever  length 
any  one  may  push  his  speculative  principles  of  skepti- 
cism, he  must  act,  and  live,  and  converse,  like  other 
men  ;  and  for  this  conduct  he  is  not  obliged  to  give  any 
other  reason,  than  the  absolute  necessity  he  lies  under 
of  so  doing.'  *■ 

Tim.  I  think  it  would  be  hard  upon  him  if  he  were 
obliged  to  give  any  other  reason ;  for  absolute  necessity 
is  an  exceeding  good  one.  But  what,  then,  is  it  you 
are  all  about,  spending  your  pains  in  constructing  a  sys- 
tem which  you  are  necessitated  to  contradict  and  pro- 
test against,  every  time  you  go  down  a  ladder  or  get 
over  a  style?  Surely  you  ought  to  be  set  in^a  corner, 
with  fools'  caps  upon  your  heads,  like  the  misses  at  a 
boarding  school  !  In  the  name  of  common  sense,  what 
can  you  mean? 

Tom.  It  is  an  amusement — 'If  a  person  carries  his 
speculations  further  than  this  necessity  constrains  him, 
and  philosophizes  either  on  natural  or  moral  subjects, 
he  is  allured  by  a  certain  pleasure  and  satisfaction  which 
he  feels  in  employing  himself  after  that  manner.'  " 

Tim.  Suppose  he  were  to  play  at  push-pin,  or  span- 
farthing,  would  it  not  be  more  to  the  purpose?  And 
then  he  would  not  disturb  his  neighbors.  But  that  man's 
heart  must  be  as  wrong  as  his  head,  who  can  'find  a 
certain  pleasure  and  satisfaction'  in  endeavoring  to  per- 
suade his  fellow  rationals,  that  they  are  without  God  in 
the  world.  However,  if  amusement  be  the  word,  let 
us  believers  have  some  too.  If  philosophers  will  amuse 
themselves  with  talking  nonsense,  they  must  give  us 
leave  to  amuse  ourselves  by  laughing  at  it.  On  our  side 
of  the  question  it  is  possible  to  be  merry  and  wise,  as 
well  as  to  do  some  little  service  to  the  world  by  show- 
ing it  what  stuff  these  dreams  are  made  of.  Come  Tom, 
you  shall  represent  the  genius  of  Philosophical  Skepti- 
cism. And  now  let  us  have  some  of  those  strong 
reasons  which  induce  you  to  deny  the  existence  of  a 
Deity. 

Tom.  Bless  us!  you  shock  me  !  I  do  not  mean  to 
deny  the  being,  but  only  to  philosophize  a  little  con- 
cerning the  nature  of  God.'' 


Dialogues,  p.  24.        "  Ibid,        '  Ibid.  p.  42, 


LETTER  IV.]   LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  243 

Tim.  Well,  then,  be  it  so !    Philosophize  away ! 

Tom.  Our  reason,  Tim,  is  very  weak — very  weak 
indeed — we  are  poor,  finite,  frail,  blind  creatures.  Our 
knowledge  of  the  things  around  us  is  extremely  limited 
and  imperfect — we  ought  to  humble  ourselves^ — 

Tim.  There  is  always  mischief  in  the  wind,  when  a 
philosopher  fallcth  down  and  humhletli  himself.  But 
what  is  your  inference  from  all  these  lowly  considera- 
tions ? 

Tom.  That  it  is  presumption  in  such  worms  of  the 
dust  to  argue  about  the  nature  and  attributes  of  God. 

Tim.  But  you  will  allow  poor  reason  to  exercise 
herself  in  her  own  province,  and  when  she  is  furnished 
with  premises  to  draw  a  conclusion  ? 

Tom.     Ay,  ay  ;  there  is  no  harm  in  that. 

Tim.  When  we  see  a  house  calculated  to  answer 
various  purposes  of  beauty  and  convenience,  and  having 
in  it  all  the  marks  of  wisdom  and  design,  we  know  it 
could  not  build  itself.  The  senseless  materials  could 
never  have  prepared  and  arranged  themselves  in  such 
order.  The  timber  conld  not  dance,  cut  and  squared, 
out  of  the  forest,  nor  the  marble  meet  it,  hewn  and 
polished,  from  the  quarry.  The  house,  therefore,  must 
have  had  a  builder.  We  apply  the  same  argument,  a 
fortiori^  to  the  case  of  the  world,  and  its  Maker,  God  : 
and  TuLLY,  if  I  remember  right,  makes  no  scruple  to 
assert,  that  he  who  denies  his  assent  to  it,  does  not 
deserve  the  name  of  a  man.  This  is  the  argument 
called  a  'posteriori,  and  lies  open  to  the  common  sense 
of  all  mankind.  Now,  then,  let  us  try  the  sincerity  of  that 
declaration  of  yours,  that  '  the  question  is  not  concern- 
ing the  being,  but  the  nature  of  God  !'  For  if  you  con- 
trovert this  argument,  you  certainly  mean  to  shake  our 
belief  in  the  existence  of  a  Deity.  You  must  of  course 
attempt  to  show,  that  the  world  might  have  been  as  it 
is,  without  one ;  and  if  that  be  the  case,  you  will  next 
defy  us  to  prove  that  there  is  one. 

Tom.  Fiat  justitia,  mat  ccElum.'  I  must  stick  to 
the  truth,  let  what  will  come  of  it ;  I  am  not  bound  to 
answer  for  consequences.  I  must  own  I  look  upon 
the  argument  to  be  inconclusive. 


y  Dialogues,  p.  42.    '  [Let  justice  be  done,  if  the  heavens  should  fall.] 


244  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  IV. 

Tim.  All  very  well ;  but  why  could  you  not  say  so 
at  first?  What  occasion  to  be  mealy-mouthed,  in  an 
age  like  this  ?  Now  matters  are  in  a  train,  and  we  can 
proceed  regularly.  What  is  your  objection  to  the  argu- 
ment ?     Wlierein  does  it  fail  1 

Tom.  It  will  fail,  d'  ye  see,  if  there  be  not  an  exact 
similarity  in  the  cases.  You  will  not  say,  that  there  is 
an  exact  similarity  between  the  uniA^  erse  and  a  house,  or 
between  God  and  man.* 

Tim.  Why  really  Tom,  I  never  imagined  the  world 
had  a  door  and  a  chimney,  like  a  house  ;  or  that  God 
had  hands  and  feet  like  a  man.  Nor  is  it  at  all  necessary 
that  it  should  be  so  for  the  strength  and  validity  of  ihe 
argument,  which  is  plainly  and  simply  this: — If  stones 
and  trees  had  not  thought  and  design  to  form  themselves 
into  a  house,  there  must  have  been  some  one  who  had 
thought  and  design,  to  do  it  for  them  ;  and  so,  as  I  said 
before,  a  fortiori,  with  respect  to  the  universe,  where 
the  thought  and  design  appear  infinitely  superior  to 
those  required  in  building  a  house,  we  have  no  occasion 
to  suppose  a  resemblance  of  the  universe,  or  of  God  to 
man  in  every  particular. 

Tom.  But  why  select  so  minute,  so  weak,  so  bounded 
a  principle,  as  the  reason  and  design  of  animals  is  '  found 
to  be  upon  this  planet  ?  What  peculiar  privilege  has 
this  little  agitation  of  the  brain  which  we  call  thought, 
that  we  must  thus  make  it  the  model  of  the  whole  uni- 
verse ?  Our  partiality  in  our  own  favor  does  indeed 
present  it  upon  all  occasions ;  but  sound  philosophy 
ought  carefully  to  guard  against  so  natural  an  allusion."' 

Tim.  It  is  not  '  our  partiality  in  our  own  favor  that 
presents  it  to  us  upon  all  occasions,'  but  the  necessity 
of  the  case.  There  is  no  other  way  of  speaking  upon 
the  subject,  so  as  to  be  understood.  Knowledge  in 
God  and  man,  however  diflerent  in  degree,  or  attained 
in  a  different  manner,  is  the  same  in  kind,  and  produces 
the  same  effects,  so  far  as  relates  to  our  present  purpose. 
The  knowledge  of  God  is  intuitive  and  perfect ;  that  of 
man  is  by  deduction,  and  is  therefore  imperfect,  either 
when  his  premises  are  false,  or  when  passion  and  preju- 
dice enter  into  his  conclusion.    But  wisdom,  which  con- 


Diulogucs,  p.  50,  51.  58.  b  Page  60. 


LETTER  IV.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  245 

sisls  in  fixing  upon  proper  ends,  and  fitly  proportioning 
means  to  those  ends,  is  wisdom,  in  whatsoever  object, 
mode,  or  degree,  it  may  exist ;  and  there  is  therefore 
no  illusion,  in  saying,  "  Every  house  is  builded  by 
some  man,  but  he  that  built  all  things  is  God."  •  You 
speak  of  thought,  reason,  or  design,  as  '  a  little  agita- 
tion of  the  brain ;'  as  if  you  imagined,  that  "  Paradise 
Lost,'^  or  "  The  Advancement  of  Learning,'"''  might  at 
any  time  be  produced,  by  simmering  a  man's  brains 
over  the  fire !  Certainly  an  author  cannot  compose 
without  brains,  heart,  liver,  and  lungs  ;  but  I  am  of 
opinion  something  more  than  all  four  must  have  gone 
to  the  composition  of  even  the  Dialogue  concerning 
Natural  Religion.  'Minute,  weak,  and  bounded,  as 
this  principle  of  reason  and  design  is  found  to  be  in  the 
inhabitants  of  this  planet,'  it  can  form  and  frustrate 
mighty  schemes ;  it  can  raise  and  subvert  empires  ;  it 
can  invent  and  bring  to  perfection  a  variety  of  arts  and 
sciences  ;  and  in  the  hand  of  some  very  worthy  gentle- 
man of  my  acquaintance,  it  can  set  itself  up  against 
God,  and  revile  the  works  of  the  Almighty  through 
three  hundred  and  sixty-four  pages  together. 

To?n.  I  cannot  but  still  think,  there  is  something  of 
partiality  and  self-love  in  the  business.  '  Suppose 
there  w^ere  a  planet  wholly  inhabited  by  spiders  (which 
is  very  possible ;)  they  would  probably  assert,  with  the 
Bramins,  that  the  world  arose  from  an  infinite  spider, 
w  ho  spun  this  whole  complicated  mass  from  his  bowels, 
and  annihilates  afterwards  the  whole,  or  any  part  of  it, 
by  absorbing  it  again,  and  resolving  it  again  into  his 
own  essence.  This  inference  would  there  appear  as 
natural  and  irrefragable  as  that  which  in  our  planet  as- 
cribes the  origin  of  all  things  to  design  and  intelligence. 
To  us  indeed  it  appears  ridiculous,  because  a  spider  is 
a  little  contemptible  animal,  whose  operations  we  are 
never  likely  to  take  for  a  model  of  the  whole  universe.'"* 
Tim.  Possibly  not;  but  I  should  take  that  'little 
contemptible  animal'  for  an  exact  model  of  a  skeptical 
philosopher — 

"  It  spins  a  flimsy  web,  its  slender  store  : 
And  labors  till  it  clouds  itself  all  o'er." 


[Bacon's  masterpiece.]  ^  Dialogues,  p.  142. 


246  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  IV. 

And  were  there  a  planet  wholly  inhabited  by  these 
same  philosophers,  I  doubt  not  of  their  spinning  a 
cosmogony  worthy  an  academy  of  spiders. — And  so, 
Tom,  the  voluntary  humility  which  discovered  itself  at 
your  setting  out,  ends  at  last  in  degrading  man  to  a 
spider ;  and  reason  is  either  exalted  to  the  stars,  or  de- 
pressed to  the  earth,  as  best  serves  the  course  of  infi- 
delity. In  this  particular,  however,  you  are  at  leeist 
as  bad  as  '  the  parsons. 'e  But  let  us  proceed.  What 
have  you  more  to  say  against  the  argument  of  the 
house  ? 

Tom.  I  say,  that  arguments  concerning  facts  are 
founded  on  experience.  I  have  seen  one  house  planned 
and  erected  by  an  architect,  and  therefore  I  conclude 
the  same  with  regard  to  others.  But  '  will  any  man 
tell  me,  with  a  serious  countenance,  that  an  orderly  uni- 
verse must  arise  from  some  thought  and  art  like  the 
human,  because  we  have  experience  of  it  ?  To  ascer- 
tain this  reasoning,  it  were  requisite  that  we  had  ex- 
perience of  the  origin  of  worlds. 'f 

Tim.  Truly  I  know  not  how  that  well  can  be ;  for 
worlds  are  not  made  every  day.  I  have  heard  of  the 
production  of  none  since  our  own,  and  man  could  not 
see  that  made,  because  he  himself  was  made  after ;  and 
he  could  not  exist  before  he  was  made.  The  contrary 
supposition  was  indeed  once  ventured  on,  by  the  master 
of  a  Dutch  puppet  show — whether  he  were  a  metaphy- 
sician, I  never  heard.  In  the  beginning  of  his  ingenious 
drama,  Mi*.  Punch  posting  over  the  stage  in  a  very  large 
pair  of  jack-boots,  and  being  asked,  whither  he  was  going 
at  so  early  an  hour,  replies,  /  am  going  to  be  created. 
His  evidence,  if  you  can  procure  it,  is  very  much  at  the 
service  of  skepticism,  and  may  go  near  to  determine  the 
matter. — In  the  mean  time,  I  shall  presume  my  argu- 
ment to  be  still  good,  that  if  a  house  must  be  built  by 
thought  and  design,  a  world  cannot  have  been  built 
without ;  though  I  have  seen  the  one,  and  never  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  see  the  other.  Let  me  add  further, 
that  if  in  the  general  contrivance  and  construction  of 
the  world  there  be  evident  demonstration  of  consum- 
mate wisdom,  that  demonstration  cannot  be  set  aside 

*•  Sec  Dialogues,  p.  37.  f  Page  66. 


LETTER  v.]  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  t547 

by  seeming  or  real  inconvenience  in  some  parts,  which, 
for  good  reasons,  were  either  originally  designed,  or 
may  have  been  since  introduced,  for  the  trial  or  pun- 
ishment of  its  inhabitants,  or  for  other  purposes  un- 
known to  us. — This  is  the  plain  conclusion  formed  by 
common  sense,  and  surely  ten  times  more  rational  than 
to  talk  of  eggs^  and  seeds,  and  spiders,  necessity  of 
seeing  the  world  made,  in  order  to  know  that  it  had  a 
maker ! 


LETTER  V. 

I  SHALL  not  pursue  any  further,  at  present,  the  wild 
ramblings  of  the  spirit  of  superstition  in  the  Dialogues 
on  Natural  Religion.  If  your  disorder  should  return 
hereafter,  dear  sir,  we  may  take  another  handful  or  two 
of  the  hasty  pudding.  Let  us  advert,  in  the  mean  time, 
to  something  more  mischievous  than  the  Dialogues, 
because  more  intelligible  to  the  generality  of  readers  : 
— I  mean  an  Essay  on  Suicide,  in  which  that  practice 
is  vindicated,  and  recommended  to  his  majesty's  liege 
subjects,  not  only  as  lawful  and  innocent,  but  as  con- 
taining and  comprehending,  in  many  cases,  almost  the 
whole  duty  of  man. 

This  Essay  opens  with  a  panegyric  on  philosophy,  as 
the  only  remedy  for  superstition.  But  may  not  the 
remedy  prove  worse  than  the  disease  ?  A  young  gen- 
tleman, some  years  ago,  suffered  himself  to  be  seduced 
to  popery.  His  friends  sent  him  to  the  sage  of  Ferneyi 
for  a  cure  ;  and  a  most  effectual  one  indeed  was  wrought. 
He  came  home  a  confirmed  infidel ;  and  has  employed 
himself  ever  since  in  writing  against  Christianity. 
Popery  may  be  bad,  but  irreligion  is  not  better. 

Mr.  Hume  laments  that  '  men  endowed  with  the 
strongest  capacity  for  business  and  affairs,  crouch 
all  their  lives  under  slavery  to  the  grossest  supersti- 
tion.'— (p.  1.)  Superstition  surely  is  not  the  failing 
of  the  present  age,  in  Great  Britain.  We  have  reason 
to  wish  that  there  was  a  little  more  of  it  than  there  is ; 


«  [Voltaire.] 
Vol.  v.— 22 


248  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  [LETTER  V. 

since  by  '  the  grossest  superstition'  philosophers  often 
mean  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  Christian  religion. 

'  The  fair  sex  feel  many  of  their  joys  blasted  by  this 
importunate  intruder.'— (p.  2.)  And  lo !  Mr.  Hume,  in 
his  panoply  of  '  sound  philosophy,'  sallies  forth  as  their 
champion,  to  slay  the  giant,  and  deliver  the  captive 
damsels.  But  of  what  kind  are  the  female  'joys'  here 
alluded  to  1  Innocent  ones  are  heightened  by  religion ; 
and  those  that  are  otherwise  ought  to  be  '  blasted.'  Mr. 
Hume,  we  have  been  told,  delighted  much  in  the  com- 
pany of  women  that  were  modest ;  though  the  system 
of  morals  with  which  he  favored  the  world,  was  by  no 
means  calculated  to  make  or  to  keep  them  such.  If 
they  were  edified  by  his  conversation,  I  am  heartily 
glad  of  it.     'I  do  rejoice;  yea,  and  will  rejoice.' 

*  Superstition  being  founded  on  false  opinion,  must 
immediately  vanish,  when  true  philosophy  has  inspired 
juster  sentiments  of  superior  powers.' — (p.  2.)  But 
where  is  this  same  'inspiring  true  philosophy'  to  bd 
found  ?  In  the  writings  of  the  ancient  Heathens  ?  As- 
suredly not.  They  were  not  agreed  whether  there  were 
many  gods,  one  God,  or  no  god.  In  the  writings  of 
Mr.  Hume  ?  Alas,  his  famous  Dialogues  on  Natural 
Religion  show,  that  by  studying  their  works,  he  had 
brought  himself,  and  wished  to  bring  his  readers,  into 
the  very  same  uncertainty.  '  Just  sentiments  of  superior 
powers'  can  be  'inspired'  only  by  those  powers.  From 
the  apostacy  of  the  nations  to  the  coming  of  Christ, 
philosophy  labored  at  the  task  in  vain ;  and  if  she  has 
succeeded  in  any  respect  better  since,  it  is  because  she 
has  borrowed  light  from  revelation,  and  not  been  honest 
enough  to  own  it.  Christianity  is  founded,  not  upon 
*  false  opinions,'  but  facts,  the  truth  of  which  all  Mr. 
Hume's  philosophy  has  never  been  able  to  disprove. 

To  the  direful  effects  of  superstition  enumerated  by 
Cicero,  Mr.  Hume  adds  one  still  more  direful ;  that  a 
man  under  its  dominion,  '  though  death  alone  can  put 
a  full  period  to  his  misery,  dares  not  fly  to  this  refuge, 
but  still  prolongs  a  miserable  existence,  from  a  vain  fear 
lest  he  offend  his  Maker,  by  using  the  power  with  which 
that  beneficent  Being  has  endowed  him.  The  presents 
of  God  and  nature  are  ravished  from  us  by  this  cruel 
enemy  ;  and,  notwithstanding  that  one  step  would  re- 


LETTER  v.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  249 

move  us  from  the  regions  of  pain  and  sorrow,  her 
menaces  still  chain  him  down  to  a  hated  being,  which 
she  herself  chiefly  contributes  to  render  miserable.' — 
(p.  3.)  The  superstion  intended  by  Cicero,  is  pagan 
superstition.  But  what  is  that  '  superstition'  which  in 
these  times  is  understood  to  prohibit  suicide?  Evidently 
it  is  the  Christian  religion.  It  is  this,  therefore,  which 
by  Mr.  Hume  is  called  '  the  modern  European  supersti- 
tion.''^  This  is  the  'virulent  poison,'^  the  'cruel  enemy,''^ 
the  'inhuman  tyrant,"  that  'chiefly  contributes  to  ren- 
der life  miserable;'  and  the  Deity  is  complimented  by 
him  as  a  '  beneficent  Being,'  because  he  has  '  endowed 
a  man  with  power'  to  cut  his  throat,  or  blow  out  his 
brains,  in  order  to  escape.  The  same  beneficent  Being 
has  endowed  a  man  with  '  power '  (if  that  be  all  that  is 
wanted)  to  cut  the  throat,  or  blow  out  the  brains,  of  his 
neighbor,  should  he  judge  that  neighbor  to  be  the  cause 
of  his  misery.  Upon  the  principles  advanced  by  Mr. 
Hume,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  give  a  good  and  sufficient 
reason  why  he  should  not  do  so.  For  if  he  has  a  right 
to  kill  himself  when  any  great  evil  befals  him,  or  when 
he  is  under  the  apprehension  of  it,  why  may  he  not  have 
an  equal  right  to  kill  another,  who,  as  he  apprehends, 
has  brought  evil  upon  him,  or  who,  as  he  fears,  will  do 
it  ? — So,  again,  if  he  may  kill  himself  because  he  seems 
no  longer  of  any  use  to  society,  why  not,  out  of  charity, 
kill  another  whom  he  finds,  or  fancies  to  be,  in  the  same 
predicament  ?  If  such  be  Mr.  Hume's  philosophy,  the 
Lord  preserve  us  from  it,  and  bless  us  with  a  little  com- 
mon sense,  and  common  honesty  ! 

Mr.  Hume  undertakes  to  prove  that  suicide  is  no 
breach  of  our  duty  to  God  :  and  now  let  us  attend  to 
him.  '  In  order  to  govern  the  material  world,  the  Al- 
mighty Creator  has  established  general  and  immutable 
laws,  by  which  all  bodies  are  maintained  in  their  pro- 
per sphere  and  function.' — (p.  5.)  Without  doubt  he 
has  established  an  agency  of  second  causes,  which  we 
call  the  course  of  nature,  operating,  under  his  own  super- 
intendency,  regularly  and  uniformly,  unless  when,  for 
special  reasons,  he  sees  fit  to  alter  or  suspend  it,  as  on 
many  occasions  he  has  done.     Very  well ;  now  to  pro- 


Page  15.        i  Page  2.        ^  Page  4.        '  Page  5. 


250  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  [LETTER  V, 

ceed  : — '  To  govern  the  animal  world,  he  has  endowed 
all  living  creatures  with  bodily  and  mental  powers; 
with  senses,  passions,  appetites,  memory,  and  judgment, 
by  which  they  are  impelled  or  regulated  in  that  course 
of  life  to  which  they  are  destined.' 

Here  we  must  stop  a  little.  And  first,  we  will  dis- 
miss the  other  '  animals'  from  their  attendance,  because 
the  question  proceeds  solely  upon  man.  This  done, 
we  ask,  whether  there  be  really  no  difference  between 
the  two  cases ;  whether  man  be  not  endowed  with  a 
will  to  choose  and  refuse ;  and  whether  he  be  not  ac- 
countable for  his  actions  ?  If  not — if  he  be  necessarily 
'  impelled  and  regulated  in  his  course,'  as  a  planet  is  in 
that  marked  out  for  it,  by  '  general  and  immutable  laws,' 
there  is  at  once  an  end  of  the  morality  of  human  actions, 
and  neither  suicide  nor  any  thing  else  can  be  a  crime» 
You  will  judge  by  what  follows,  how  far  it  is  Mr. 
Hume's  intention  to  inculcate  this  idea. 

'  All  events,  in  one  sense,  may  be  pronounced  the 
action  of  the  Almighty ;  they  all  proceed  from  those 
powers  with  which  he  has  endowed  his  creatures.' — 
(p.  7.)  The  murder  of  Abel  '  proceeded  from  those 
powers  with  which  God  had  endowed  his  creature' 
Cain;  since,  if  Cain  had  not  possessed  such  powers, 
he  could  not  have  exerted  them.  But  what  is  the  'one 
sense'  in  which  '  that  event  may  be  pronounced  the 
action  of  the  Almighty  V  The  power  is  from  God  ; 
but  let  man  be  answerable  for  the  use  and  the  abuse 
of  it. 

'  When  the  passions  play,  when  the  judgment  dic- 
tates, when  the  limbs  obey  ;  this  is  all  the  operation  of 
God.' — (p.  7.)  The  same  fallacy.  That  the  passions 
can  play,  the  judgment  can  dictate,  and  the  limbs  can 
obey,  is  of  God  ;  but  that  these  several  faculties  operate 
by  righteousness  unto  life,  and  not  by  sin  unto  death, 
man,  assisted  by  divine  grace,  is  competent  to  provide ; 
and  it  is  at  his  peril  that  he  do  provide.  Otherwise 
God  is  made  the  author  of  all  the  evil  in  the  world. 

'  Men  are  intrusted  to  their  own  judgment  and  dis- 
cretion, and  may  employ  every  faculty  with  which  they 
are  endowed,  to  provide  for  their  ease,  happiness,  or 
preservation.' — (p.  8.)  In  subordination  to  the  laws  of 
God,  and  the  duties  he  has  enjoined,  not  per  fas  atque 


S,ETTER  v.]         LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  351 

nefas."^  There  are  cases  in  which  we  ought  to  give  up 
our  own  ease,  happiness,  and  even  preservation,  for 
the  benefit  of  others — our  friends,  our  country,  our  reli- 
gion ;  and  we  shall  in  nowise  lose  our  reward. 

We  are  now  coming  to  the  point.  '  What  is  the 
meaning  then  of  this  principle,  that  a  man  who  puts  an 
end  to  his  own  life  to  avoid  pain  and  misery,  has  incur- 
red the  indignation  of  his  Creator  by  encroaching  on 
the  office  of  Divine  Providence,  and  disturbing  the 
order  of  the  universe?' — (P'9')  Mr.  Hume  has  been 
careful  to  insinuate  repeatedly  in  the  course  of  his  argu- 
ment, 'that  the  providence  of  the  Deity  appears  not 
immediately  in  any  operation,  but  governs  every  thing 
by  the  general  and  immutable  laws  above  mentioned  ;''• 
that  there  is  no  event  exempted  from  them,  or  peculiarly 
reserved  for  his  own  immediate  action  and  operation  ;''^ 
and  that  if  general  laws  be  ever  broken  by  particular 
volitions  of  the  Deity,  'tis  after  a  manner  which  entire- 
ly escapes  human  observation.'? — But  God  may  act 
mediately,  though  not  immediately;  he  may  direct, 
though  he  does  not  control.  The  agency  of  second 
causes  proceeds  not  by  chance,  or  by  a  blind  impulse; 
it  was  created  by  God's  power,  framed  by  God's  wis- 
dom, and  is  guided  by  his  providence.  We  have  better 
authority  for  affirming,  than  Mr.  Hume  can  have  for 
denying,  that  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  without 
our  heavenly  Father.  If  he  regards  the  life  of  a  bird, 
he  cannot  be  indiffijrent  to  that  of  a  man.  The  infer- 
ence is  made  by  the  same  authority — '  how  much  more, 
O  ye  of  little  faith' — quite  contrary  to  another  favorite 
position  of  Mr.  Hume,  that  in  the  sight  of  God  '  every 
event  is  alike  important, <i  and  that  the  life  of  a  man  is 
of  no  more  importance  to  the  universe,  than  that  of  an 
oyster.'*" 

If  God  be  not  inattentive  to  inferior  animals,  it  must 
be  because  he  had  some  view  in  giving  them  existence. 
And  shall  we  suppose  that  man,  the  noblest  of  his  crea- 
tures, the  lord  of  this  lower  world,  was  formed  without 
any  view  or  design  at  all  ?  No,  surely ;  he  is  sent  upon 
earth,  for  a  certain  time,  to  perform  a  certain  part,  to  act, 


">  [For  right  or  for  wrong.]       "  Page  7.       •  Page  8.       p  Page  8, 
Page  8,        '  Page  11. 


352  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  V. 

or  to  suffer  as  God  for  wise  and  just  reasons  shall  be 
pleased  to  ordain,  till  the  part  shall  be  finished,  and  he 
shall  be  released  and  dismissed  by  the  same  hand.  The 
Lord  of  nature  gives,  and  takes  away.  It  is  the  glory  of 
a  man  to  resign  himself  to  the  divine  dispensation,  and 
to  wait  his  discharge  with  faith  and  patience.  There 
is  something  more  rational  and  manly  and  comfortable 
in  all  this,  than  in  the  notion  of  our  being  subjected 
only  to  the  'general  laws  of  matter  and  motion,'  and 
whenever  we  happen  to  be  out  of  humor  with  the 
world  and  ourselves,  flying  at  once  for  relief  to  the 
sword  or  to  the  pistol. 

But  in  this  case,  says  Mr.  Hume,  *  it  would  be  equal- 
ly criminal  to  act  for  the  preservation  of  life,  as  for  its 
destruction.' — (p.  11.)  By  no  means.  GoD.has  implant- 
ed in  every  creature  an  instinct  for  the  preservation  of 
life,  and  great  pains  must  be  taken  to  oyercome  that 
instinct,  before  we  can  bring  ourselves  to.  effect  its  de- 
struction. 

The  reason  assigned  is,  that  in  one  case  as  well  as 
the  other,  '  we  disturb  the  course  of  nature,  and  infringe 
the  general  laws  of  matter  and  motion.' — My  dear 
philosopher,  let  us  obey  the  law  of  God,  and  leave 
'  laws  of  matter  and  motion'  to  thefnselves.  1  am  afraid 
it  is  impossible  you  should  have  imposed  upon  your 
own  understanding,  when  you  risked  this  argimaent. 

'  A  hair,  a  fly,  an  insect,  is  able  to  destroy  this  mighty 
being,  whose  life  is  of  such  importance.' — (p.  12.)  Un- 
doubtedly. Now  for  the  inference, — 'Is  it  an  absurdity 
lo  suppose  that  human  -prudence  may  lawfulhj  dispose 
of  what  depends  on  such  insignificant  causes.' — But  is 
life  of  less  importance  while  it  continues,  because  by 
insignificant  causes  it  may  be  taken  away  ?  Or  because 
it  may  be  so  taken  away,  are  we  therefore  authorized  to 
extinguish  it  by  our  own  act  and  deed  ?  The  considera- 
tion of  its  frailty  can  only  render  it  more  precious,  in- 
citing us  to  make  the  best  use  of  it  while  we  have  it, 
and  to  take  all  possible  care  lest  we  lose  it. 

P.  12.  'It  would  be  no  crime  in  me  to  divert  the  Nile 
or  Danube  from  its  course.' — None  at  all.  Some  oppo- 
sition might  arise  from  the  inhabitants  of  certain  coun- 
tries perhaps,  when  they  were  likely  to  lose  their  rivers. 
But  I  wish  you  had  been  so  employed,  instead  of  writing 


LETTER  v.]  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.  253 

fessays  in  defence  of  suicide. — 'Where  then  is  the  crime 
of  turning  a  few  ounces  of  blood  from  their  natural 
channel?' — (p.  12.)  The  public  prints  informed  us  some 
time  ago  of  a  man  who  killed  his  wife  and  children,  as 
well  as  himself,  to  prevent  them  from  being  unhappy. 
And  where  was  the  crime  1  It  was  only  in  *  turning  so 
many  ounces  of  blood  from  their  natural  channel.' — 
This,  it  seems  is  the  philosophical  idea  of  murder; 
somewhat  similar  to  the  notion  once  entertained  of  per- 
jury by  an  Irish  witness — 'Who  would  not  smack  the 
calveskin,^  said  he,  '  for  a  friend  V 

But  more  curiosities  await  us.     We  are  now  to  be 
informed  that  resignation  and  gratitude  are  with  the 
suicide  ;  and  that  it  belongs  to  the  poor  foolish  Christian 
only  to  murmur  and  be  thankless.     'Do  you  imagine 
that  I  repine  at  Providence,  or  curse  my  creation,  be- 
cause I  go  out  of  life,  and  put  a  period  to  a  being,  which, 
were  it  to  continue,  would  render  me  miserable?' — (p. 
12.)     I  do  really  imagine,  from  all  that  I  have  observed 
and  heard,  that  this  is  the  disposition  of  mind  in  which 
many  of  those  leave  the  world,  who  become  their  own 
executioners.      Suicide  is  the  refuge  most  frequently 
recurred  to  by  pride,  lust,  and  ambition,  when  disap- 
pointed in  their  schemes,  or  reduced  to  beggary  by  their 
own  folly  and  extravagance.     Sour,  gloomy,  and  des- 
perate, they  put  themselves  upon  the  forlorn  hope  of 
atheism  and   annihilation,    dash  from   the   world,  and 
plunge  into  eternity,  at  a  venture.     Melancholy,  if  it 
proceed  from  the  above  mentioned  causes,  partakes  of 
their  criminality.     If  it  be  constitutional,  it  is  a  disease, 
and  must  be  judged  of  according!}-.  As  to  the  supposed 
instances  of  suicide,  to  escape  from  pain  and  sickness, 
they  very  seldom  happen.     In  that  school  of  affliction 
men  learn  patience,  and  with  patience  many  other  good 
lessons.     But   from  whatever  cause  such  a  resolution 
may  proceed,  he  who  throws  back  his  life,  the  gift  of 
God,  in  the  face  of  the  donor,  and  in  effect  says  he  will 
have  no  more  of  it,  most  certainly  '  repines  at  Provi- 
dence,' and  cannot  be  far  from  'cursing  his  creation.' 
How  would  the  despised  Christian  virtues  of  humility, 
repentance,  faith,   and   charity,   in  every  trial,   set  all 
right,  and  reconcile  us  to  our  sufferings  and  our  duty ! 
;Put  let  us  hear  Mr.  Hume.     '  Far  be  such  sentiments 


254  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  [lETTER  V, 

from  me — I  thank  Providence,  both  for  the  good  which  I 
have  already  enjoyed,  and  for  the  power  with  which  I  am 
endowed,  of  escaping  the  ill  that  threatens  me.' — (p.  12.) 
A  very  fine  piece  of  still  life,  for  one  about  to  commit 
such  an  act  of  violence  upon  himself!  A  most  amiable 
and  gracious  portrait  of  self-murder,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Stoics  !  Suppose,  instead  of  thanking  Providence 
for  a  '  power'  which  you  are  going  to  employ  in  a  man- 
ner never  intended  by  your  Maker ;  when  you  are  upon 
your  knees  you  should  entreat  for  grace  to  bear  your 
misfortunes  Hke  a  man,  and  improve  them  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  sent — would  not  this  conduct 
display  more  piety  and  resignation  than  cutting  your 
throat  to  escape  them  ?  Mr.  Hume  is  of  a  different 
opinion.  *  To  you  it  belongs  to  repine  at  Providence, 
who  foolishly  imagine  that  you  have  no  such  power, 
and  who  must  still  prolong  a  hated  life,  though  loaded 
with  pain  and  sickness,  with  shame  and  poverty.' — 
(p.  13.)  Pardon  me,  sir:  the  accents  of  a  Christian  in 
such  circumstances,  are  very  different  indeed.  'Thou 
hast  sent  me  sickness,  and  I  have  borne  it  with  patience, 
without  murmuring ;  great  losses,  and  I  have  blessed 
thy  holy  name ;  calamities  and  afflictions,  and  I  have 
received  them  with  thanksgiving.' 

'Do  you  not  teach,  that  when  any  ill  befalls  me, 
though  by  the  malice  of  mine  enemies,  I  ought  to  be 
resigned  to  Providence ;  and  that  the  actions  of  men 
are  the  operations  of  the  Almighty,  as  much  as  the 
actions  of  inanimate  beings?' — (p.  13.)  Certainly  they 
are  all  under  his  direction  :  and  now  again  for  the  in- 
ference. '  When  I  fall  upon  my  own  sword,  there- 
fore, I  receive  my  death  equally  from  the  hands  of  the 
Deity,  as  if  it  had  proceeded  from  a  lion,  a  precipice, 
or  a  fever.'  That  is,  because  I  must  be  resigned  to 
God's  providence,  when,  in  the  course  of  his  dispensa- 
tions, my  life  is  taken  from  me,  therefore  I  may  kill 
myself!  This  is  an  '' argaV  that  would  have  disgraced 
the  grave  digger  in  Hamlet !  In  the  one  instance  we 
employ  our  utmost  exertions  to  preserve  life ;  in  the 
other  we  ourselves  destroy  it. 

But  it  is  said,  '  If  my  life  be  not  my  own,  it  were 
criminal  in  me  to  put  it  in  danger,  as  well  as  to  dispose 
of  It.'— (p.  13.)     When  it  pleases  God  to  call  for  life, 


LETTER  v.]  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  255 

in  the  way  of  duty,  it  must  willingly  be  sacrificed.  But 
suicide  never  lies  in  the  way  of  duty.  And  no  two  cases 
can  be  more  essentially  different  than  that  of  the  hero, 
who  dies  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  his  king,  or  his 
God,  and  that  of  the  wretch  who,  through  pride,  impa- 
tience, and  cowardice,  lays  violent  hands  upon  himself. 
Attempt  not  for  the  credit  of  philosophy,  to  confound 
the  two  characters ;  for  heaven  and  hell  are  not  farther 
asunder. 

'  There  is  no  being — which  by  ever  so  particular 
an  action  can  encroach  upon  the  plan  of  the  Creator's 
providence,  or  disorder  the  universe.  Its  operations 
are  his  works  equally  with  that  chain  of  events  which 
it  invades,  and  whichever  principle  prevails,  we  may 
for  that  very  reason  conclude  it  to  be  most  favored 
by  him.' — (p.  14.)  Rare  news  for  pick-pockets,  profli- 
gates and  cut-throats ! — A  lady  has  paid  a  visit  to  a 
neighbor,  and  in  the  evening  is  returning  to  her  home, 
which  in  the  natural  'chain  of  events,'  she  could  reach 
in  peace  and  quietness.  But  a  man,  'exercising  the 
po-wers  with  which  his  Creator  has  invested  him,'  ra- 
vishes, robs,  and  murders  her.  This  is  the  '  irregular 
action,  which  invades  the  chain.'  Be  of  good  courage, 
my  boy  !  '  Its  operations  are  equally  the  works  of  God 
with  the  chain  of  events  invaded  by  it,  and  whichever 
principle  prevails,  we  may,  for  that  very  reason,  con- 
clude it  to  be  the  most  favored  by  him.' — '  God  sees 
no  sin  in  his  eZeci,'  says  the  fanatic:  but  according 
to  the  new  philosophy,  God  sees  no  sin,  (for  if  this 
mode  of  reasoning  be  just,  there  neither  is  or  can  be  sin) 
in  any  man. 

'  When  the  horror  of  pain  prevails  over  the  love  of 
life ;  when  a  voluntary  action  anticipates  the  effects  of 
blind  causes,  it  is  only  in  consequence  of  those  powers 
and  principles  which  he  (the  supreme  Creator)  has  im- 
planted in  his  creatures.' — (p.  14.)  Does  not  the  argu- 
ment prove  too  much  ?  May  not  the  same  be  said  of 
numberless  desires  which  arise  in  the  heart  of  man,  as 
at  present  circumstanced,  and  which,  according  to  all 
the  rules  of  true  philosophy,  as  well  as  true  religion, 
ought  to  be  controlled  and  overruled  by  a  superior  prin- 
ciple ?  Will  not  the  same  plea  be  as  valid  in  the  case 
of  him  who  finds  himself  strongly  excited  to  revenge. 


266  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  V. 

to  intemperance,  to  lust,  &c.  <Slc.  &c.  as  of  him  who  is 
tempted  to  destroy  himself?  All,  it  may  be  said,  hap- 
pens 'in  consequence  of  those  powers  and  principles 
implanted  in  us.'  The  truth  is,  that  human  actions 
must  be  directed,  because  they  will  be  judged,  by  other 
measures  than  our  pains  or  our  pleasures.  On  one  side 
is  my  propensity  ;  on  the  other,  the  law  of  God.  Can 
it  be  a  matter  of  inditference,  w^hich  of  the  two  prevails? 
According  to  those  arguments,  as  Rousseau  has  justly 
observed,  '  there  can  be  no  crimes  which  may  not  be 
justified  by  the  temptation  to  perpetrate  them  ;  and  as 
soon  as  the  impetuosity  of  passion  shall  prevail  over  the 
horror  of  guilt,  a  disposition  to  do  evil  shall  be  consi- 
dered as  a  right  (o  do  it.''' 

'Divine  providence  is  still  inviolate,  and  placed  far 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  injuries.' — (p.  15.)  Certain- 
ly. When  Judas  betrayed  his  Master,  it  was  foreseen 
that  he  w^ould  do  so,  and  all  things  were  ordered  accord- 
ly  :  '  Providence  was  still  inviolate' — but  Judas  was  not 
therefore  guiltless. 

It  is  affirmed  that  '  to  divert  rivers  from  their  course, 
to  inoculate  for  the  small  pox,  to  put  a  period  to  our 
own  life,  to  build  houses,  to  cultivate  the  ground,  or  sail 
upon  the  ocean,  are  actions  equally  innocent,  or  equally 
criminal.'  Why?  Because  'in  all  of  them  we  employ 
our  powers  of  mind  and  body,  to  produce  some  innova- 
tion in  the  course  of  nature;  and  in  none  of  them  do 
we  any  more.' — (p.  15.)  1.  As  to  the  actions  of  'di- 
verting rivers,  building  houses,  cultivating  the  ground, 
and  saihng  upon  the  .ocean,'  there  is  no  occasion  to 
discuss  their  legality. — 2.  The  intention  of  inoculation 
is  to  preserve  life,  that  of  suicide  can  be  only  to  destroy 
it;  so  that  there  is  a  material  difference  between  them. 
— 3.  No  one  ever  rested  the  morality  of  human  actions, 
merely  on  the  circumstance  here  stated  of  'producing 
some  innovation  in  the  course  of  nature'  !  Otherwise 
one  might  argue,  after  the  manner  of  Mr.  Hume,  'Jack 
kills  a  hog,  and  Dick  kills  a  inan.  They  must  be  equally 
innocent,  or  equally  criminal.  Jack  employs  his  pow- 
ers to  produce  some  innovation  in  the  course  of  nature  ; 
^n<\  Dick  does  no  more.     Each  turns  a  few  ounces  of 


*  Eloisa,  Letter  cxv. 


LETTER  v.]  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  257 

blood  out  of  their  natural  channel ;  and  the  blood  of  a 
hog  makes  as  good  puddings  as  that  of  a  man.' 

*  But  you  are  placed  by  Providence,  like  a  sentinel, 
in  a  particular  station  ;  and  when  you  desert  it  without 
being  recalled,  you  are  equally  guilty  of  rebellion  against 
your  almighty  sovereign,  and  have  incurred  his  displea- 
sure.' (p.  15.) — This  is  an  argument  urged  against  sui- 
cide by  Heathen  as  well  as  Christian  writers.  How  does 
Mr.  Hume  overthrow  it? — '  I  ask  why  do  you  conclude 
that  Providence  has  placed  me  in  this  station  ?  For  my 
part,  I  find  that  I  owe  my  birth  to  a  long  chain  of  causes, 
of  which  many  depended  on  the  voluntary  actions  of 
men. — (p.  16.)  Here  we  should  answer,  but  that  Mr. 
Hume,  like  the  mother  of  Sisera,  returns  answer  to  him- 
self:— '  But  Providence  guided  all  these  causes,  and  no- 
thing happens  in  the  universe,  without  its  consent  and 
co-operation.' — (p.  16.) 

Now  comes  Mr.  Hume's  reply  : — '  If  so,  then  neither 
does  my  death,  however  voluntary,  happen  without  its 
consent.'  If  by  consent  Mr.  Hume  mesins  permission,  all 
the  evil  ever  perpetrated  on  earth  has  been  perpetrated 
by  God's  permission ;  for  otherwise  it  could  not  have 
been  perpetrated  at  all.  But  if  he  means  approbation, 
we  must  deny  the  proposition.  Many  things  are  per- 
mitted,  which  are  not  approved  of.  Of  his  approbation 
or  disapprobation  we  have  other  rules  by  which  to 
judge. — '  And  whenever  pain  or  sorrow  so  far  overcome 
my  patience,  as  to  make  me  tired  of  life,  I  may  con- 
clude that  I  am  recalled  from  my  station  in  the  clearest 
and  most  direct  terms.' — (p.  16.)  Then  every  man  may 
put  an  end  to  his  own  life  when  he  thinks  proper.  The 
'  patience'  of  some  people  is  soon  '  overcome ;'  and 
perhaps  there  are  iQw  Englishmen,  who  have  not  found 
themselves  '  tired  of  life,'  in  one  part  or  other  of  the 
month  of  November ;  but  happily  prevented  from 
hanging  themselves  by  a  sense  of  higher  obligation, 
they  have  returned  to  business,  and  done  excellent  ser- 
vice to  their  country,  in  the  month  of  January.  The 
station  of  a  sentinel  is  not,  nor  is  it  supposed  to  be,  a 
station  of  ease,  but  of  duty.  A  good  soldier  endures 
hardship  ;  and  a  good  Christian  must  do  the  same. 
Affliction  is  '  a  call,  in  the  most  clear  and  express 
terms,'  not  to  sullenness  and  suicide,  but  to  the  exercise 


358  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.         [LETTER  V, 

of  patience,  resignation,  and  fortitude.  "  For  even 
hereunto  are  we  called,"  and  our  commander  himself 
has  set  us  the  example.  Let  us  follow  him  with  alacrity 
and  cheerfulness,  and  we  shall  one  day  sit  down  with 
him  "  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens." 
This  is  a  philosophy  that  has  some  comfort  in  it,  and 
is  worth  cultivating. 

'  'Tis  Providence  surely  that  has  placed  me  at  this 
present  in  this  chamber  :  but  may  I  not  leave  it  when  I 
think  proper,  without  being  liable  to  the  imputation  of 
having  deserted  my  post  or  station  V — (p.  16.)  Is  there 
no  difterence,  then,  between  your  walking  out  of  life,  and 
your  walking  out  of  one  room  into  another  ? — '  When 
I  shall  be  dead,  the  principles  of  which  I  am  composed 
will  still  perform  their  part  in  the  universe,  and  will  be 
equally  useful  in  the  grand  fabric;,  as  when  they  com- 
posed this  individual  creature.' — (p.  16.)  They  may  be 
so.  Your  clay,  like  that  of  Alexander,  "may  stop  a 
bung  hole." — 'The  difference  to  the  whole  will  be  no 
greater  than  betwixt  my  being  in  a  chamber  and  the 
open  air.  The  one  change  is  of  more  importance  to 
me  than  the  other ;  but  not  more  so  to  the  universe.' — 
This  is  the  old  argument,  that  'the  life  of  man  is  of  no 
greater  importance  to  the  universe  than  that  of  an 
oyster.'  As  far  as  this  argument  goes,  then,  there 
would  be  no  harm  done,  if  the  whole  species  were  to 
take  arms,  and,  like  Bayes'  troops  in  The  Rehearsal, 
"  all  kill  one  another."  But  we  know  that  the  life  of 
man  is  no  insignificant  matter  in  the  eye  of  God  :  and 
Mr.  Hume  himself  seems  to  think  it  of  some  importance 
to  the  person  concerned. 


LETTER  VL 

We  are  next  to  inquire,  whether  suicide  be  any 
breach  of  duty  towards  our  neighbor. 

'  How  does  it  appear  that  the  Almighty  is  displeased 
with  those  actions  which  disturb  society?  By  the  prin- 
ciples which  he  has  implanted  in  human  nature  ;  and 
which  inspire  us  with  a  sentiment  of  remorse  if  we 
ourselves  have  been  guilty  of  such  actions,  and  with 
that  of  blame  and  disapprobation,  if  we  ever  observe 


LETTER  VI.]   LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  259 

them  in  others.      Let  us  now  examine  whether  suicide 
be  of  this  kind  of  actions.' — (p.  17.) 

Before  we  enter  upon  the  examination  here  proposed, 
it  is  obvious  to  remark,  that  there  is  no  instinct,  or 
'  principle  implanted'  in  human  nature,  which  seems  to 
be  more  universal  and  more  forcible  than  that  of  an 
aversion  to  suicide.  For  a  man  to  destroy  himself,  is 
directly  against  the  voice  and  the  very  prime  inclination 
of  nature.  Every  thing  desires  to  preserve  itself.  "No 
man  hateth  his  own  flesh,  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth 
it."  And  therefore  nations  in  general,  as  taught  by  the 
immediate  voice  of  nature,  by  the  very  first  accents 
which  she  utters  to  all,  have  abhorred  men's  laying 
violent  hands  upon  themselves :  and  to  show  their 
abhorrence,  have  decreed  to  pursue  self-murderers, 
after  their  death,  with  the  highest  marks  of  ignominy. « 
The  argument  from  'implanted  principle,'  therefore, 
militates  very  powerfully  against  suicide. 

But  however,  the  truth  is,  that  in  this,  as  in  many 
other  cases,  these  implanted  principles,  by  due  labor 
and  pains,  may  be  overruled  and  suppressed.  On  which 
account,  it  becomes  necessary  for  us  to  have  some  other 
criterion  of  moral  rectitude  evident  to  all,  and  to  be 
eluded  by  none ;  lest  obduracy  should  be  deemed  a 
proof  of  innocence,  and  because  a  man  feels  no  remorse 
he  should  apprehend  no  guilt.  For  us  Christians,  this 
matter  is  settled  by  a  law,  which  we  esteem  to  be  wise, 
and  just,  and  good,  and  most  friendly  to  the  interests 
of  society.  By  the  leave  of  the  new  philosophers,  we 
will  take  it  with  us ;  and  I  am  apt  to  think,  it  v.ill  ap- 
})ear  to  great  advantage,  on  this  part  of  our  subject. 
Holding  this  light  in  our  hands,  then,  let  us  enter  the 
dark  labyrinth  of  Mr.  Hume's  sophistry,  and  it  will 
bring  us  safely  out  again. 

*  A  man  who  retires  from  life  does  no  harm  to 
society.' — (p.  18.)  There  are  two  ways  of  imposing  upon 
mankind  through  the  abuse  of  words ;  when  a  good 
thing  is  disgraced  by  a  bad  name,  or  a  bad  thing  digni- 
fied with  a  good  one.  Mr.  Hume  in  this  Essay  affords 
us  a  striking  instance  af  the  latter  mode  of  deception. 


•  See  Bishop  Taylor's  Dudor  Diibitantium,  Book  11.  Chap.  ii. 
Rule  3. 

Vol.  v.— 23 


260  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  VI. 

The  self-murderer  is  sometimes  said  by  him  to  *  dispose 
of  life,'  as  a  pedlar  would  sell  two  pennyworth  of  inkle  ; 
at  others,  to  *  retire  from  life,'  as  a  gentleman,  when  he 
has  a  mind  to  leave  company,  makes  his  bow,  steps 
gracefully  out  of  the  room,  and  shuts  the  door. — It  naay 
be  urged,  perhaps,  that  as  we  understand  Mr.  Hume's 
meaning,  it  is  needless  to  dispute  any  further  about  his 
language. — Be  it  so.  Proceed  we  then  to  consider  the 
sentiment. 

'  A  man  who  retires  from  life  does  no  harm  to  society.' 
Aristotle  thought  otherwise,  and,  as  it  should  seem, 
better,  upon  this  point.  It  was  his  opinion,  that  they 
who  destroy  themselves  (without  the  command  of  God 
or  the  public)  are  injurious  to  the  commonwealth ;  from 
whose  service  they  withdraw  themselves  if  they  be  inno- 
cent, and  whose  justice  they  evade,  if  they  be  guilty.' 
But  surely  the  suicide  '  does  harm  to  society,'  by  setting 
a  detestable  example,  which,  if  generally  followed  in 
times  of  calamity  and  distress,  would  desolate  a  country, 
instead  of  defending  it.  Suicide  originates  in  despair, 
of  all  evils,  political  or  moral,  the  greatest,  as  cutting 
off  every  resource  of  help  and  deliverance.  Wisely, 
therefore,  as  well  as  bravely,  did  the  Romans  return 
public  thanks  to  their  general  who  had  been  vanquish- 
ed in  a  dreadful  battle  by  the  enemy,  because  he  had 
nevertheless  not  despaired  of  the  commonwealth.  In 
the  instance  before  us,  example  is  particularly  conta- 
gious. Once,  as  history  relates,  it  became  a  fashion 
among  the  young  women  of  a  certain  city  in  Greece  to 
make  away  with  themselves  ;  nor  could  the  magistrates 
put  an  end  to  the  horrid  practice,  till  having  ordered  the 
dead  bodies  of  the  culprits  to  be  dragged  naked  through 
the  streets,  they  overcame  this  most  unnatural  love  of 
death  by  the  dread  of  shame.  In  our  own  country,  and 
it  is  said,  of  late,  upon  the  continent,  partly  by  the  ex- 
amples of  profligates,  and  partly  by  the  writings  of  phi- 
losophers, the  same  fashion  is  more  and  more  diffusing 
itself  among  all  ranks  of  people,  and  the  state  is  con- 
tinually losing  members,  who  might  otherwise  have 
lived  long  to  serve  it,  and  then  have  died  in  the  faith 
and  fear  of  God.     It  is  not  true,  therefore,  that  the  sui- 

'  Sec  Bishop  Taylor,  uhi  supra. 


LETTER  VI.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  361 

cide  *  does  no  harm  to  society.'  He  does  irremediable 
harm,  and  may  continue  to  do  so,  to  the  years  of  many 
generations. 

*  He  only  ceases  to  do  good ;  which  if  it  is  an  injury, 
is  of  the  lowest  kind.' — (p.  18.)  To  cease  to  do  good  is 
not  so  criminal  as  to  do  harm ;  but  it  is  criminal  not- 
withstanding. We  were  sent  into  the  world  to  do 
good ;  and  we  should  do  it  to  the  end.  The  portion  of 
the  "  unprofitable  servant"  is  not  to  be  envied. 

'  But  when  I  withdraw  myself  altogether  from  soci- 
ety, can  I  be  bound  any  longer  V — (p.  18.)  It  is  not  pos- 
sible to  *  withdraw  yourself  altogethel*  from  society.' 
There  will  always  be  some  about  you,  whom  you  may 
improve  by  your  conversation  and  example,  and  who 
may  improve  others  by  the  relation  of  them. — '  I  am  not 
obliged  to  do  a  small  good  to  society,  at  the  expense  of 
a  great  harm  to  myself.' — (p.  18.)  Be  not  afraid,  where 
no  fear  is.  The  'harm'  is  not  'great'  of  bearing  your 
afflictions  as  God  requires  you  to  bear  them,  who  sends 
the  trial,  and  will  send  the  strength;  and  in  a  stage  of 
our  existence  where  so  large  a  part  of  our  duty  lies  in 
suffering,  the  '  good'  is  not  '  small,'  of  showing  your 
companions  in  tribulation  (and  such  more  or  less  are 
all  mankind)  what  it  is  to  suffer  and  die  like  a  Christian, 
in  piety  and  patience,  cheerfulness  and  resignation. 

'If  upon  account  of  age  and  infirmities,  I  may  law- 
fully resign  any  office,  and  employ  my  time  altogether 
in  fencing  against  those  calamities,  and  alleviating,  as 
much  as  possible,  the  miseries  of  my  future  life;  why 
may  I  not  cut  short  these  miseries  at  once  by  an  action 
which  is  no  more  prejudicial  to  society  V — (p.  19.)  Sui- 
cide is  in  reality  far  more  'prejudicial  to  society,'  as  we 
have  already  shown,  because  it  exhibits  a  bad  example 
of  impatience  and  despair,  which  may  be  copied  by  any 
man,  who,  in  the  hour  of  gloom  and  melancholy  (he 
being  always  judge  of  his  own  case)  shall  fancy  himself 
in  circumstances  which  will  justify  the  action.  How 
many  have  still  continued  to  the  last  in  various  ways  to 
do  service  to  their  families  and  to  the  public,  during  the 
intervals  of  pain  and  sickness  !  And  when  they  could 
no  longer  teach  their  friends  how  to  live  and  act,  have 
taught  them,  (as  before  mentioned,  but  it  cannot  be 


"462  LETTERS  ON    INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  VI, 

mentioned  too  often,)  that  other  equally  necessary  and 
important  lesson — to  suffer  and  to  die. 

Mr.  Hume  is  resolved  to  die  hard. — 'But  suppose  that 
it  is  no  longer  in  my  power  to  promote  the  interest  of 
society.'  I  repeat  it  once  more,  that  while  you  have 
breath,  it  will  be  in  your  power  to  do  so. — '  Suppose 
that  I  am  a  burden  to  it.'  If  the  society  be  Christian,  it 
will  readily,  charitably,  and  kindly,  support  the  burden. 
'  Suppose  that  my  life  hinders  some  person  from  being 
much  more  useful  to  society.'  As  it  is  your  duty  to 
bear  your  afflictions,  it  is  that  of  others  to  assist,  and 
minister  to  you  in  your  necessities  ;  and  they  cannot  be 
'more  useful  to  society'  than  while  so  employed.  'In 
such  cases  my  resignation  of  life  must  not  only  be  inno- 
cent, but  laudable.' 

Neither  'laudable'  nor  'innocent,'  believe  me,  if  by 
'resignation  of  life'  you  mean  suicide,  for  the  reasons, 
many  and  good,  above  assigned. 

'Most  people  who  lie  under  any  temptation  to  abandon 
existence,  are  in  some  such  situation  :  those  who  have 
health  or  power,  or  authority,  have  commonly  better 
reason  to  be  in  humor  with  the  world.' — (p.  19.)  Yet 
this  is  by  no  means  always  so.  There  are  seasons  when 
the  world,  with  all  its  pleasures,  and  all  its  glories,  will 
fail  him  who  has  nothing  else  to  depend  upon.  Ac- 
cordingly we  have  had  instances,  where,  for  want  of 
the  rehgious  principle,  '  health,  power,  and  authority,' 
have  proved  insufficient  to  keep  their  possessors  '  in 
humor;'  and  through  the  prevalence  of  pride,  avarice, 
intemperance,  caprice,  and  spleen,  men  have  despatched 
themselves — some,  because  they  had  taken  a  wrong 
step,  and  were  blamed  for  it ;  some,  because  they  had 
eaten  too  much,  and  therefore  life  was  insupportable ; 
some  to  defraud  their  creditors ;  some,  because  they 
were  tired  of  buckling  and  unbuckling  their  shoes ;  and 
some  to  save  charges.  Poor  unhappy  man  !  How  art 
thou  tost  upon  the  ocean  of  life,  when  once  driven  from 
the  helm,  wliich  should  direct  thy  course  through  time 
to  eternity. 

Mr.  Hume  states  the  following  case. — 'A  man  is  en- 
gaged in  a  conspiracy  for  the  public  interest;  is  seized 
upon  suspicion  ;  is  threatened  with  the  rack  ;  and  knows 
from  his  own  weakness  that  the  secret  will  be  extorted 


LETTER  VI.]   LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  263 

from  him:  could  such  a  one  consult  the  public  interest 
better  than  by  putting  a  quick  period  to  a  miserable 
life?' — (p.  20.)     1.   To  avoid  so  untoward  a  situation, 
before  a  man  'engages  in  a  conspiracy,'  let  him  be  very 
well  assured  that  it  is  indeed  '  for  the  public  interest,' 
that  he  is  in  the  way  of  his  duty ;  and  that  the  law  of 
his  God  will  bear  him  out  in  the  undertaking. — 2.  This 
point  being  secured,  and  the  action  of  suicide  supposed 
to  be  (as  we  apprehend)  malum  in  se,"  then  the  reso- 
lution of  the  question  is  clear;   we  are  not  to  'do  evil 
that  good  may  come;'    it  were  better  the  conspiracy 
should  be  discovered  than  that  the  man  should  commit 
a  sin,  for  the  reason  assigned  elsewhere  by  Mr.  Hume 
himself,  that  '  the  damnation  of  one  man  is  an  infinitely 
greater  evil  than  the  subversion  of  a  thousand  millions 
of  kingdoms. '^     Let  the  man  therefore  continue  in  his 
integrity,  and  trust  God  for  the  event. — 3.   He  who  is 
invited  to  take  a  part  in  a  dangerous  and  desperate 
enterprise,  should  consider  consequences  possible  and 
probable,  and  weigh  well  his  own  strength,  beforehand; 
and  if  he  suspects  himself  likely  to  fail  in  the  day  of 
trial,  let  him  by  no  means  engage.     A  case  of  this  kind 
may  doubtless  be  imagined,  which  will  seem  extremely 
hard;  and  mankind  will  be  disposed  not  only  to  excuse, 
but  even  to  honor  him  who  thus  falls  by  his  own  hand, 
to  save  his  companions,  and  his  country.     The  behavior 
of  some  Christian  virgins  in  the  early  ages,  who  chose 
rather  to  inflict  death  upon  themselves,  than  suffer  the 
violation  of  their  purity  by  their  ruffian  persecutors,  has 
obtained  in  its  favor  the  suffrages  of  the  Fathers,  as  a 
case  exempted  from  the  general  rule ;  and  we  cannot 
readily  blame  those,  who  to  preserve  their  honor,  de- 
spised their  life.     They  committed  one  sin,  to  escape 
another  which  they  deemed  greater;  (though  as  their 
will  would  not  have  been  concerned,  they  were  perhaps 
mistaken ;)  and  destroyed  the  temple  to  avoid  its  profa- 
nation.     But  these  extraordinary  instances,  whatever 
may  be  thought  of  them,  cannot  prove  that  to  be  lawful 
which  is  in  itself  unlawful.  ^ 

As  to  the  other  case  stated  by  Mr.  Hume  in  the  same 


"  [Evil  in  itself.]    ^  Essay  on  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul.  p.  33, 
w  See  Bishop  Taylor,  ubi  sujrra, 
23* 


'ZGi:  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.   [lETTER  VIl, 

page,  that  of  '  a  malefactor  justly  condemned  to  a  shame- 
ful death,'  there  can  be  no  difficulty.  It  is  the  duty  of 
him  who  has  transgressed  the  laws  of  his  country,  to 
make  the  satisfaction  they  require.  The  virtues  called 
forth  upon  the  sad  occasion,  of  repentance  and  faith  in 
the  divine  mercy,  consequent  thereupon,  are  of  the 
highest  benefit  to  himself  in  his  most  important  con- 
cerns ;  while  his  example  at  his  death  undoes,  as  far 
as  in  him  lies,  the  evil  perpetrated  in  his  life;  and  by 
warning  others  not  to  offend,  is  of  eminent  service  to 
the  community.  I  am  astonished  that  Mr.  Hume  should 
ask,  '  can  any  reason  be  imagined  why  he  may  not  an- 
ticipate his  punishment  ?'  and  assert,  that  'he  invades 
the  business  of  providence  no  more  than  the  magistrate 
did  who  ordered  his  execution ;'  and,  that  '  his  volun- 
tary death  is  equally  advantageous  to  society.' — It  is 
an  unparalleled  outrage  at  once  upon  common  sense, 
the  laws,  and  the  religion  of  his  country. 

We  may  now,  I  believe,  venture  to  conclude,  notwitli- 
standing  all  that  Mr.  Hume  has  said  to  the  contrary,  that 
suicide  is  a  breach  of  our  duty  to  our  neisrhbor. 


LETTER  VII. 

Let  us  consider,  in  the  last  place,  M'liether  suicide 
be  not  a  breach  of  that  duty  we  owe  to  ourselves.  On 
this  head  Mr.  Hume  is  short,  and  therefore  we  need  not 
be  long. 

The  argument  lies  in  a  narrow  compass.  Man  is 
subject  to  misery,  and  suicide  is  the  way  to  escape  it. 
'Tliat  suicide  may  often  be  consistent  with  interest,  and 
with  our  duty  to  ourselves,  no  one  can  question,  who 
allo\vs  that  age,  sickness,  or  misfortune,  may  render 
life  a  burden,  and  make  it  worse  even  than  annihilation.' 
^p.  20.)  That  they  '  make  it  worse  than  annihilation,' 
is  not  the  general  opinion,  because,  however  afflicted, 
few  seem  disposed  to  choose  annihilation  (if  they  thought 
they  could  obtain  it)  in  preference.  That  the  calamities 
of  human  life  are  many  and  great,  there  is  neither  room 
or  occasion  to  dispute.  They  have  employed  the  pens 
of  poets,  orators,  and  historians,  from  age  to  age.  They 


LETTER  VII.]       LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  265 

are  frequently,  without  doubt,  '  a  burthen.'  But  the 
burthen  has  often  been  borne ;  and  what  has  been  done 
may  be  done  again.  It  is  laid  upon  us  by  our  sins,  and 
is  no  more  than  we  deserve  ;  therefore  it  ought  to  be 
borne  patiently.  It  will  last  but  a  little  while ;  there- 
fore it  should  be  borne  cheerfully.  Through  the  mer- 
cies of  a  Saviour,  it  will  terminate  in  everlasting  feli- 
city ;  and  therefore  it  should  be  borne  joyfully.  This 
is  the  ground  upon  which  we  stand.  These  are  the 
principles  by  which  we  abide.  Admit  them  ;  they  solve 
every  difficulty,  and  disperse  every  cloud.  Through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  they  open  a  fair  and 
lovely  prospect,  extending  far  and  wide  beyond  it.  At 
their  presence  sorrow  brightens  into  joy,  light  arises  in 
darkness,  and  the  mass  of  human  wretchedness  melts 
away  before  it,  like  the  morning  mist  upon  the  moun- 
tains.— If  the  philosophers  possess  any  principles  that 
are  better  founded,  let  them  be  communicative;  if  not, 
let  them  embrace  these  with  us,  and  not  be  faithless,, 
but  believing.  Whoever  they  may  be  of  them  that  read 
this,  'almost,'  I  think,  they  are,  at  the  moment,  'per- 
suaded to  be  Christians.'  Would  to  God  that  every 
one  who  reads  it,  might  become  not  only  almost,  but 
altogether  such  ! 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  unhappily  seduced  by  the  sub- 
tlety and  sophistry  of  Mr.  Hume,  men  determine  to^ 
adopt  what  he  calls  his  philosophy,  that  is,  to  doubt 
concerning  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments ;  whether  there  be  any  providence,  concerning 
itself  with  human  aftairs  ;  and  whether  the  world  be 
governed  by  a  good  or  an  evil  Being,  or  by  any  Beintf 
at  all — then  may  they,  with  Mr.  Hume,  esteem  suicide 
'  to  be  no  crime,  but  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  be 
useful  to  society,  by  setting  an  example  which,  if  imi^ 
tated,  would  preserve  to  every  one  his  chance  for  hap- 
piness in  life,  and  would  effectually  free  him  from  all 
danger  of  misery.' 

But  according  to  a  common  saying,  we  are  to  look 
for  the  business  of  a  letter  in  the  Postcript.  Subjoined 
to  the  Essay  is  a  Note,  in  which  Mr.  Hume  asserts, 
and  endeavors  to  prove,  '  that  suicide  is  as  lawful  under 
the  Christian  dispensation,  as  it  was  to  the  Heathens*' 


266  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  VII. 

If  this  be  the  case,  we  must  beg  his  pardon  for  having 
supposed  that  Christianity  was  glanced  at  above,  as  the 
superstition  which  kept  men  in  bondage,  and  prevented 
them  fom  taking  this  short  method  to  escape  the  evils 
of  life.  The  Gospel,  it  seems,  allows  of  suicide.  It  must 
be  the  gospel,  not  according  to  St.  Matthew,  St.  Mark, 
St.  Luke,  or  St.  John,  but  according  to  Mr.  Hume.  I 
know  of  no  single  text  that  will  prove  the  point,  though 
I  once  heard  of  a  gentleman  who  did  effectually  prove 
it  by  two  texts  judiciously  laid  together — "Judas  de- 
parted, and  went  out,  and  hanged  himself" — "  Go,  and 
do  thou  likewise." 

But  though  there  be  no  text  that  enjoins  it,  (as,  con- 
sidering the  importance  of  the  subject,  might  have  been 
expected,)  Mr.  Hume  is  clear,  '  there  is  not  a  single  text 
which  prohibits  it.' — '  That  great  and  infallible  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,'  continues  he  very  gravely,  '  which 
must  control  all  philosophy  and  human  reasoning,  has 
left  us  in  this  particular  to  our  natural  liberty.' 

The  'liberty'  of  destroying  himself  cannot  be  thought 
very  '  natural,'  by  any  one  believing  in  a  God  who 
placed  him  here,  and  placed  him  here  with  some  view 
or  design.  Much  less  can  a  Christian,  while  he  con- 
tinues in  his  senses,  imagine  himself  left  at  this  liberty 
by  the  Gospel ;  since  above  all  things,  it  enjoins  and 
exhorts  him,  after  the  example  of  his  Saviour,  to  suffer 
in  patience,  that  he  may  reap  in  glory.  Every  precept 
of  this  sort  is  a  virtual  prohibition  of  suicide,  which 
argues  the  last  degree  of  impatience. 

'  Resignation  to  Providence  is  indeed  recommended 
in  Scripture ;  but  that  implies  only  submission  to  ills 
that  are  unavoidable,  not  to  such  as  may  be  remedied 
by  prudence  or  courage.' — '  Prudence  and  courage'  are 
both  excellent  things  ;  they  are  two  of  the  cardinal  vir- 
tues. But  that  suicide  is  a  display  of  them,  is  a  propo- 
sition hitherto  unknown  to  Reason,  Law,  and  Gospel. 
There  could  be  no  occasion  to  preach  patience  under 
sufferings,  if  it  were  so,  because  then  no  man  could  be 
under  a  necessity  of  suffering.  He  might  avoid  it  at  a 
moment's  warning,  by  the  knife  or  the  halter.  There 
could  be  no  such  things  as  '  unavoidable  ills ;'  and  the 
Gospel  precepts  would  be  about  as  absurd  as  Mr.  Hume's 
note, 


LETTER  VII.]       LETTERS  ON  IN'FIDELIT Vf.  267 

'  Thou  shalt  not  kill,  is  evidently  meant  to  exclude 
only  the  killing  of  others,  over  whose  life  we  have  no 
authority.  Magistrates  punish  criminals  capitally,  not- 
withstanding the  letter  of  the  law.'  Magistrates  have 
authority  over  the  lives  of  others ;  but  have  we  autho- 
rity over  our  own,  to  put  an  end  to  them  when  we  please  ? 
Surely  not ;  and  therefore  suicide  is  justly  accounted 
and  treated  by  our  laws  as  one  species  of  murder,  for- 
bidden by  the  commandment. 

'But  were  this  commandment  ever  so  express  against 
suicide,  it  would  now  have  no  authority;  for  all  the  law 
of  Moses  is  abolished,  except  so  far  as  it  is  established 
by  the  law  of  nature.  And  we  have  already  endeavored 
to  prove,  that  suicide  is  not  prohibited  by  that  law.' 
This  is  modest — '  We  have  endeavored  to  prove.'  But 
the  endeavor,  it  is  humbly  apprehended,  has  been  in 
vain,  and  ever  will  be  so,  while  there  shall  be  piety 
enough  left  on  earth  to  acknowledge  God  as  the  Lord 
of  life  and  death ;  for  so  long  men  will  judge  it  their 
duty  to  adore  his  power,  and  wait  his  pleasure.  A  tri- 
fling alteration  in  our  religious  services  might  perhaps 
answer  Mr.  Hume's  purpose,  without  the  abolition  of 
any  part.  Let  that  little  article  not  be  expunged  from 
the  Commandments,  and  inserted  in  the  Creed. 

"  In  all  cases  Christians  and  Heathens  are  upon  the 
same  footing." — They  very  soon  will  be  so,  when  Mr. 
Hume's  philosophy  shall  once  become  the  established 
religion. — 'Cato  andBrutus,Arria  and  Portia  acted  hero- 
ically ;  those  who  now  imitate  their  example  ought  to 
receive  the  same  praises  from  posterity.' — Christianity 
inculcates  a  far  nobler  heroism.  It  teaches  us,  when 
we  are  engaged  in  a  good  cause,  to  die  for  it  like  men, 
but  not  by  our  own  hands  ;  to  "  endure  the  cross,  despis- 
ing the  shame."  Cato  had  not  patience  to  do  the  one, 
and  Brutus  was  too  proud  to  do  the  other.  That  forti- 
tude is  not  complete,  which  cannot  do  both.  But  surely, 
Cato  might  have  lived,  though  Ca?sar  conquered  ;  and 
Brutus  have  left  the  world  with  a  quiet  conscience, 
though  he  had  foreborne  to  stab  the  dictator,  or  himself. 
Of  the  Roman  ladies,  nil  nisi  bonnm.^  But  there  have 
been  martyrs  of  that  sex  among  us  Christians,  who  could 


[We  will  say  nothing  but  good.] 


268  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  VIII. 

have  shown  to  them  likewise  "  a  more  excellent  way." 
There  cannot  be  a  finer  or  more  just  representation  of 
this  matter  than  that  given  by  Mrs.  Chapone,  in  the 
story  of  Fidelia,  first  published  in  "  The  Adventurer,'" 
No.  77,  ifcc,  and  afterwards  reprinted  in  a  little  volume, 
entitled,  Miscellanies  in  Prose  and  Verse.  Every  fe- 
male, who,  on  account  of  her  crimes,  her  miseries,  or 
both,  may  be  tempted  to  put  a  period  to  her  life,  should 
read  that  story.  She  m.ay  read  it  again  and  again,  with 
increasing  pleasure  and  improvement.  Nor  let  me  omit 
this  opportunity  of  recommending  to  general  perusal, 
a  charming  ode,  published  among  the  poems  of  Mr. 
Warton,  styled  "  The  Suicide,-''  in  which  the  best 
poetry  is  applied  to  the  best  of  purposes. 

'The  power  of  committing  suicide  is  regarded  by 
Pliny  as  an  advantage  which  men  possess  even  above 
the  Deity  himself.' — Shame  upon  Pliny  for  uttering 
such  a  sentiment !  But  more  shame  upon  Mr.  Hume 
for  retailing  it  in  a  Christian  country !  The  thought  is 
equally  blasphemous  and  absurd.  Blasphemous,  in  ex- 
alting man  above  the  Deity,  on  so  wretched  an  account ; 
absurd,  because  as  God  is  liable  to  no  calamities,  he 
cannot  need  the  means  to  escape  them. 


LETTER  VIII. 

Since  the  appearance  of  the  unbelieving  fraternity 
among  us,  in  these  latter  days,  they  have  been  cele- 
brated for  many  extraordinary  qualities  :  but  their  cha- 
racteristic virtue,  I  think,  has  been  modesty.  A  remark- 
able instance  of  this  virtue  has  manifested  itself  in  their 
conduct  respecting  the  publication  of  a  certain  edifying 
pamphlet,  entitled  Doubts  of  the  Infidels :  or  Queries 
relative  to  Scriptural  Inconsistencies  and  Contradictions 
— Submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  Bench  of  Bishops. 
By  a  weak  Christian.  It  stole  abroad  in  so  humble 
and  reserved  a  manner,  without  the  name  of  printer,  or 
vender,  that  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  knew  there  was 
such  a  pamphlet  in  being.  Informed,  however,  by  a 
friend,  that  there  certainly  was  such  a  thing,  and  that  he 
had  actually  seen  it,  I  made  application  to  several  book- 


LETTER  VIII.]      LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  269 

sellers  of  note  in  town ;  but  they  declared,  they  knew 
nothing  of  the  matter.  As  I  am  one  of  those  who  love 
to  learn  what  is  stirring,  I  was  not  to  be  easily  put  by ; 
and  therefore  rested  not  till  I  had  made  myself  master  of 
a  copy.  Happy  in  my  prize,  with  my  hand  in  my  pocket, 
I  betook  myself  immediately  home,  and  having  provided 
the  implement  necessary  for  the  purpose,  began  to  open 
the  leaves. 

In  the  process  of  this  operation,  the  first  words  that 
caught  my  eye  were  the  following,  in  page  5  of  the 
epistle  dedicatory  to  my  lords  the  bishops — 'Inner 
chambers  of  the  holy  inquisition — whips,  cords,  pullies, 
screws,  wheels,  iron  crows,  and  red  hot  pincers.' — 
Having  no  predilection  for  good  things  of  this  particular 
kind,  I  resumed  my  work,  determined  not  to  peep  any 
more,  till  I  came  to  the  top  of  page  20,  where  my  atten- 
tion was  again  arrested  forcibly  by  the  expressions — 'Rip- 
ping women  with  child,  dashing  infants  to  pieces  against 
the  rocks,  and  broiling  men  to  death  with  slow,  fires.' 

I  now  laid  down  the  pamphlet,  and  considered  with 
myself,  what  had  happened  lately  among  us,  to  occasion 
this  lamentable  yelping.  Sometimes  I  thought  the 
archbishop  of  York,  in  the  course  of  his  last  visitation, 
must  have  wedged  some  northern  hierarch  under  the 
screw,  and  with  one  turn  of  the  machine,  to  the  great 
diversion  of  the  company,  cracked  all  the  bones  in  his 
skin,  like  the  claws  of  a  lobster.  At  other  times  I  con- 
cluded (though  no  mention  had  been  made  of  it  in  the 
Morning  Chronicle)  that  his  grace  of  Canterbury  had 
invited  the  bishops  to  dine  with  him  upon  a  roasted 
infidel,  whipped  to  death  by  his  chaplains.  That  one 
of  these  events  had  taken  place,  there  seemed  to  be  little 
doubt,  though  it  was  impossible  to  say  which. 

I  finished,  however,  my  task  of  leaf-opening,  and  began 
to  read  regularly ;  when  I  found  that  a  deed  had  been 
done  still  more  atrocious  and  petrifying  than  either  of 
the  above ;  for  that,  by  an  act  of  parliament,  procured 
by  these  same  bloody-minded  prelates  of  ours,  the  infi- 
dels are  now  obliged,  on  a  Sunday  evening,  to  blaspheme 

IN  PRIVATE  !  ^ 


*  [The  allusion  is  to  an  act  passed  at  the  instigation  of  Bishop  Por- 
TEus,  in  1781.    The  following  account  of  its  occasion  and  character  is 


270  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  VIII. 

This  is  a  falling  off^  to  which  my  memory  furnishes 
me  with  nothing  similar,  unless  it  be  the  story  of  a  man 
much  given  to  the  use  of  the  long-  bow,  who  asserted  one 
morning,  to  his  family,  that  he  had  just  seen  forty  cou- 
ple of  dogs  running  through  the  yard.  It  being  denied 
that  so  many  were  kept  in  the  country,  '  Nay,'  cried  he, 


extracted  from  a  statement  drawn  up  by  the  Bishop  himself,  and  pre- 
served in  his  Life  by  Mr.  Hodgson. 

"  The  beginning  of  the  winter  of  1780  was  distinguished  by  the  rise 
of  a  new  species  of  profaneness  and  dissipation.  A  set  of  needy  and 
profligate  adventurers,  finding  every  day,  and  abnost  every  hour  of  the 
week,  occupied  by  some  amusement  or  other,  bethought  themselves  of 
trying  what  might  be  done  on  a  Sunday.  It  was  a  novel  and  a  bold 
attempt ;  but  not  the  less  likely  to  succeed  in  this  country,  and  in 
these  times.  They  therefore  opened,  and  publicly  advertised,  two  dif- 
ferent sorts  of  entertainments  for  the  Sunday  evening.  One  of  these 
was  at  Carlisle  House,  and  was  called  a  Promenade.  The  other  was  a 
meeting  at  pubhc  rooms  hired  for  the  purpose,  and  assumed  the  name 
of  Christian  Societies,  Religious  Societies,  Theological  Societies, 
'ITicological  Academies,  i^^c." 

"The  business,  or,  as  it  should  rather  be  called,  the  amuseynent, 
proposed  at  the  Sunday  Debating  Societies,  was  to  discuss  passages  of 
Scripture,  which  were  selected  and  given  out  for  that  purpose  ;  when 
every  one  present,  ladies  as  well  as  gentlemen,  were  to  propose  their 
doubts,  receive  explanations,  and  display  their  eloquence,  on  the  text 
proposed.  It  was  to  be,  in  sliort,  a  scliool  for  metaphysics,  ethics,  pul- 
pit oratory,  church  history,  and  canon  law.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  what 
infinite  mischief  such  debates  as  these  must  do  to  the  younger  part  of  the 
conmmnity,  who,  being  unemployed  on  this  day,  would  flock  to  any 
assembly  of  this  sort ;  would  look  upon  every  doubt  and  difficulty 
.started  there  as  an  unanswerable  argument  against  religion,  and  would 
go  home  absolute  skeptics,  if  not  confirmed  unbelievers.  Thus,  as  tlie 
Promenade  tended  to  destroy  every  moral  sentiment,  the  Theological 
Assemblies  were  calculated  to  extinguish  every  religious  principle ; 
and  both  together  threatened  the  worst  consequences  to  public  morals." 

In  the  course  of  the  history  of  the  passage  of  the  bill,  the  Bishop 
gives  the  following,  among  other  arguments  urged  by  him  in  its 
favor  in  the  House  of  Lords  :  — 

"  It  has  been  said,  indeed,  that  this  bill  is  a  restraint  upon  religious 
liberty.  It  is  no  such  thing.  It  restrains  no  one  from  professing  that 
nio<le  of  religion,  and  joining  in  that  form  of  public  worship,  which  his 
conscience  best  approves.  It  restrains  no  one  from  speaking,  con- 
vrrsing,  or  writing,  upon  religious  ssihjects.  It  imposes  no  other  re- 
.straint  than  this,  which  is  surely  no  very  great  hardship,  that  no  one 
shall  cither  pay,  ur  be  paid  for,  talking  blasphemy  or  profaneness  in 
a  public  room  on  the  Lord's  day.  It  takes  away,  in  short,  no  other 
liherty  but  the  liberty  of  burlesquing  Scripture,  and  making  religion  a 
j>ul.lic,  amusement  and  a  public  trade,  which  I  was  inclined  to  think 
ihiir  lordships  would  not  consider  essential  marks  of  religious  fVeedom." 
Houoso.N's  Life  of  Portcus,  j)p.  55.  57.  G3,  Am.  edit.] 


LETTER  VIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INriDELITY.  271 

*  I  am  sure  there  were  twenty  /'  The  audience  still  con- 
tinuing skeptical,  'Why,  then,'  said  he,  with  perfect 
gravity,  '  it  was  our  little  brown  cur  /' 

For  such  'cruel,  barbarous,  and  inhuman'  usage, 
these  gentlemen  are  determined,  it  seems,  to  have  their 
revenge  upon  the  Church,  and  really  think  themselves 
able,  at  this  time  of  day,  to  write  revelation  out  of  the 
world,  in  a  twelve-penny  pamphlet. — Take  this  whole 
business  together,  and  it  is  enough  to  make  the  weeping 
philosopher  laugh. 

In  the  thirty  sections  of  their  pamphlet,  they  have 
produced  a  list  of  difficulties  to  be  met  with  in  reading 
the  Old  and  New  Testament.  Had  I  been  aware  of 
their  design,  I  could  have  enriched  the  collection  with 
many  more,  at  least  as  good,  if  not  a  little  better.  But 
they  have  compiled,  I  dare  say,  what  they  deemed  the 
best,  and,  in  their  own  opinion,  presented  us  with  the 
essence  of  infidelity  in  a  thumb-phial,  the  very  fumes  of 
which,  on  drawing  the  cork,  are  to  strike  the  bench  of 
bishops  dead  at  once. 

Let  not  the  unlearned  Christian  be  alarmed,  "as 
though  some  strange  thing  had  happened  to  him,"  and 
modern  philosophy  had  discovered  arguments  to  demo- 
lish religion,  never  heard  of  before.  The  old  ornaments 
of  deism  have  been  "broken  off"  upon  this  occasion, 
"  and  cast  into  the  fire,  and  there  came  out  this  calf." 
These  same  difficulties  have  been  again  and  again  urged 
and  discussed  in  public ;  again  and  again  weighed  and 
considered  by  learned  and  sensible  men,  of  the  laity  as 
well  as  the  clergy,  who  have  by  no  means  been  induced 
by  them  to  renounce  their  faith. 

Indeed,  why  should  they?  For  is  any  man  surprised 
that  difficulties  should  occur  in  the  books  of  Scripture, 
those  more  particularly  of  the  Old  Testament  ?  Let  him 
reflect  upon  the  variety  of  matter  on  which  they  treat ; 
the  distance  of  the  times  to  which  they  refer ;  the  wide 
difierence  of  ancient  manners  and  customs,  from  those 
of  the  age  in  which  we  live ;  the  very  imperfect  know- 
ledge we  have  of  these,  as  well  as  of  the  language  in 
which  they  are  described  ;  the  conciseness  of  the  narra- 
tives, sufficient  for  the  purpose  intended,  but  not  for 
gratifying  a  restless  curiosity ;  above  all,  the  errors  and 
defects  of  translations, 

Vol.  V,— 34 


273  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  VIII. 

Many  and  painful  are  the  researches  sometimes  neces- 
sary to  be  made,  for  settling  points  of  that  kind.  Pert- 
ness  and  ignorance  may  ask  a  question  in  three  lines, 
which  it  will  cost  learning  and  ingenuity  thirty  pages 
to  answer.  When  this  is  done,  the  same  question  shall 
be  triumphantly  asked  again  the  next  year,  as  if  nothing 
had€ver  been  written  upon  the  subject.  And  as  people 
in  general,  for  one  reason  or  another,  like  short  objec- 
tions better  than  long  answers,  in  this  mode  of  disputa- 
tion (if  it  can  be  styled  such)  the  odds  must  ever  be 
against  us ;  and  we  must  be  content  with  those  of  our 
friends  who  have  honesty  and  erudition,  candor  and 
patience,  to  study  both  sides  of  the  question. — Be  it  so. 

In  the  mean  time,  if  we  are  called  upon  seriously  for 
satisfaction  upon  any  point,  it  is  our  duty  to  give  the  best 
in  our  power.  But  our  adversaries  will  permit  us  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  way  they  are  pleased  to  take  (the  way,  I 
mean,  of  doubts  and  difficulties)  is  the  longest  way  about : 
and  I  much  fear  they  will  never  find  it  the  shortest  way 
home.  For  if  they  really  have  determined  with  them- 
selves, not  to  become  Christians,  till  every  difficulty  that 
may  be  started  concerning  the  revealed  dispensations  of 
God,  or  any  part  of  them,  be  fully  cleared  up,  I  will 
fairly  tell  them,  that  I  apprehend  they  must  die  deists. 
I  will  likewise  further  tell  them,  that  if  they  should  re- 
solve not  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  God,  till  every 
question  can  be  solved,  relative  to  the  works  of  creation 
and  the  course  of  his  providence,  I  verily  believe  they 
must  die  atheists.  At  least,  I  will  not  undertake  their 
conversion  in  either  case.  For  in  the  first  place,  whe- 
ther the  solution  be  satisfactory  to  themselves,  none  but 
themselves  can  be  the  judges ;  and  their  prejudices  will 
not  sufler  them  to  judge  fairly.  In  the  second  place,  if 
they  produce  a  hundred  objections,  and  we  can  solve 
ninety-nine  of  them,  that  which  remains  unsolved  will 
be  deemed  a  plea  sufficient  to  justify  their  continuing 
in  incredulity.  In  the  third  place,  it  is  impossible  in 
the  nature  of  things,  that  we  should  be  equal  to  the  so- 
lution of  every  difiiculty,  unless  we  were  well  ac- 
quainted with  many  points  of  which  it  has  pleased  God 
to  keep  us  in  ignorance,  till  the  last  day  shall  open  and 
unfold  them.     Nay,  in  some  instancee  it  is  impossible. 


LETTER  IX.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  2TfS 

unless  we  could  see  and  know,  as  God  hiniself  sees;  and 
knows. 

But  it  is  an  axiom  in  science,  that  di^culties  are  of 
no  weight  against  demonstrations.  The  existence  of 
God  once  proved,  we  are  not  in  reason  to  set  that 
proof  aside,  because  we  cannot  at  present  account  for 
all  his  proceedings.  The  divine  legation  of  Moses,  and 
that  of  Jesus  Christ,  stand  upon  their  proper  evidence,, 
which  cannot  be  superseded  and  nullified  by  any  pre- 
tended or  real  difliculties  occurring  in  the  Jewish  and 
Christian  dispensations.  If  we  can  solve  the  difficulties, 
so  much  the  better ;  but  if  we  cannot,  the  evidence  is 
exactly  where  it  was.  Upon  that  evidence  is  our  faith 
founded,  and  not  upon  the  ability  of  any  man  or  set  of 
men,  to  explain  particular  portions  of  Scripture,  and  to 
answer  the  objections  which  may  be  made  to  them. 
Otherwise,  our  faith,  instead  of  resting  on  the  power  of 
God,  would  rest  on  the  weakness  of  man,  and  might  be 
subverted  every  day.  Now  the  evidence  that  may  be 
produced  for  the  divine  missions  of  Moses  and  of 
Jesus  Christ,  is  such  as  never  was  produced  in  favor 
of  any  others  laying  claim  to  divine  missions,  since  the 
world  began ;  and  it  is  such  as  no  person  can  reject, 
without  being  obliged  to  believe  a  series  of  absurdities 
and  impossibilities,  that,  in  any  other  case,  would  choke 
the  faith  of  the  greatest  bigot  in  Christendom  :'^  which 
is  bringing  the  matter  as  near  to  demonstration  as  a 
matter  of  this  kind  is  capable  of  being  brought,  or  as 
any  reasonable  being  would  desire  it  to  be  brought. 

Thus  much  premised,  to  prevent  mistakes,  I  shall 
proceed  in  the  next  letter  to  the  consideration  of  the 
iirst  section,  the  subject  of  which  is  miracles. 


LETTER  IX. 

The  substance  of  this  section,  thrown  into  an  argu- 
mentative form  stands  thus — '  miracles  are  not  wrought 
now  ;  therefore  they  never  were  wrought  at  all.' 


h  [The  entire  truth  of  this  assertion  is  abundantly  proved  by  Faber, 
in  his  Diffi,c\dties  of  Ivfidelity.'] 


274  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  IX. 

One  would  wonder  how  the  premises  and  the  con- 
clusion could  be  brought  together.  No  man  could  in 
earnest  assert  the  necessity  of  miracles  being  repeated, 
for  the  confirmation  of  a  revelation,  to  every  new 
generation,  and  to  each  individual  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed. Certainly  not.  If  they  were  once  wrought, 
and  duly  entered  on  record,  the  record  is  evidence  ever 
after.  This  reasoning  holds  good  respecting  them,  as 
well  as  other  facts ;  and  to  reason  otherwise,  would  be 
to  introduce  universal  confusion. 

It  is  said  '  They  are  things  in  their  own  nature  far 
removed  from  common  belief.' 

They  are  things  which  do  not  happen  ev^ery  day,  to 
be  sure.  It  were  absurd,  from  the  very  nature  of  them, 
to  expect  that  they  should.  But  what  reason  can  there 
be  for  concluding,  from  thence,  that  none  ever  were 
wrought  ?  Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  more  in- 
credible, that  the  ruler  of  the  world  should  interpose, 
upon  proper  occasions,  to  control  the  operations  of 
nature,  than  that  he  should  direct  them,  in  ordinary? 
It  is  not  impossible  that  a  teacher  should  be  sent  from 
God.  It  may  be  necessary  that  one  should  be  sent. 
If  one  be  sent,  he  must  bring  credentials,  to  show  that 
he  is  so  sent ;  and  what  can  these  credentials  be  but 
miracles,  or  acts  of  almighty  power,  such  as  God  only 
can  perform  ? — In  the  case  of  Jesus,  common  sense 
spake  by  the  mouth  of  the  Jewish  ruler,  and  all  the 
sophistry  in  the  world  cannot  invalidate  or  perplex  the 
argument — "  Master,  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from 
God  ;  for  no  man  can  do  the  miracles  which  thou  doest, 
except  God  were  with  hira."'^ 

'  They  (miracles)  require  something  more  than  the 
usual  testimony  of  history  for  their  support.' 

Why  so  ?  If  they  may  be  wrought,  and  good  rea- 
sons are  assigned  for  their  having-  been  wrought  upon 
any  particular  occasion,  '  the  usual  testimony  of  history' 
is  sufficient  to  evince  that  they  were  wrought.  But  the 
truth  is,  that  they  have  '  something  more  than  the  usual 
testimony  of  history ;' — they  have  much  more  ;  for  no 
facts  in  the  world  were  ever  attested  by  such  an  accu- 
mulated weight  of  evidence,   as  we  can  produce  on 

•  John  iii.  2. 


LETTER  IX.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  275 

behalf  of  the  miracles  recorded  of  Moses  and  Christ  ; 
insomuch  that  the  mind  of  any  person  tolerably  well 
informed  concerning  them,  till  steeled  against  convic- 
tion by  the  prejudices  of  infidelity,  revolts  at  the  very 
idea  of  their  being  accounted  forgeries. 

'  When  LivY  speaks  of  shields  sweating  blood,  of  its 
raining  hot  stones,  and  the  like,  we  justly  reject  and 
disbelieve  the  improbable  assertions.' — (p.  3.)  Doubt- 
less. But  what  comparison  can  be  properly  instituted 
between  these  hear-say  stories  concerning  pagan  pro- 
digies, and  a  series  of  miracles,  like  those  openly  and 
publicly  wrought,  for  years  together,  in  the  face  of  the 
world,  by  Moses  and  by  Christ  T*^  The  historical  facts 
related  by  Livy  may  be  true,^  whatever  becomes  of  his 
prodigies  ;  but,  in  the  other  case,  the  miracles  are  in- 
terwoven with,  and  indeed  constitute,  the  body  of  the 
history.  No  separation  can  possibly  be  made ;  the 
whole  must  be  received,  or  the  whole  rejected. 

'  Neither  is  any  credit  given  to  the  wonderful  account 
of  curing  diseases  by  the  touch,  said  to  be  possessed  by 
Mr.  Greatrix,  though  we  find  it  in  the  Philosophical 
Trans  actions  >'' 

Mr.  Greatrix's  general  method  of  curing  diseases  was 
not,  as  I  remember,  simply  and  instantaneously  by  the 
ioucli,  but  by  the  operation  of  stroking  the  part  affected, 
and  that  being  long  continued,  or  frequently  repeated. 
Sometimes,  it  is  said,  this  stroking  succeeded,  and  some- 
times it  failed.  If  (as  we  are  informed  in  a  note)  Boyle, 
WiLKiNs,  CuDwoRTH,  and  other  great  men,  attested 
the  fact,  that  there  were  persons  who  found  themselves 
relieved  by  this  new  device,  undoubtedly  there  were 
such  persons.  But  whether  this  relief  were  temporary ; 
whether  it  were  owing  in  any,  or  what  degree,  to  the 
working  of  the  imagination,  or  to  the  real  physical  change 
effected  by  the  application  of  a  warm  hand,  or  any  particu- 


d  [See  Standard  Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  25-38.] 

«  [The  late  researches  of  Niebuhr  9.nd  others  who  have  trodden  in 
his  steps,  have  shown  that  little  more  ci^dit  is  to  be  given  to  the  history 
of  Livy  (at  least  in  its  earlier  portions)  than  to  the  prodigies  which 
are  so  plentifullv  interspersed.  On  the  contrary,  researches  of  the  same 
description  (I  allude  particularly  to  those  of  Sir  W.  Drummond,  in  his 
Origines,  and  of  the  MM.  Champollion  in  Egypt)  are  daily  fur=. 
nishing  new  evidence  in  confirmation  of  the  Scriptures.] 
24* 


276  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  IX, 

lar  temperament  in  the  constitution  of  the  stroker — these 
are  points,  which  the  reader  may  find  discussed  in  Mr. 
Boyle's  letter  to  Henry  Stubbe,  written  upon  the  occa- 
sion ;  in  which  he  reproves  Stubbe,  as  he  well  might, 
for  supposing  there  was  any  thing  necessarily  miracu- 
lous in  the  affair.  Mr.  Valentine  Greatrix,  by  all  ac- 
counts, was  an  honest,  harmless,  melancholy  country 
gentleman,  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  who  after  having 
gained  great  reputation  by  stroking  in  England,  re- 
turned to  spend  his  latter  days  quietly  and  peaceably 
in  his  native  country,  and  was  heard  of  no  more.  He 
had  no  new  doctrine  to  promulgate,  pretended  to  no 
divine  mission,  and,  I  dare  say,  never  thought  of  his 
cures  being  employed  to  discredit  those  of  his  Saviour. 
The  wonders  reported  to  have  been  wrought  formerly 
by  Apollonius  Tyan^us,*"  and  more  lately  at  the  tomb 
of  Abbe  Paris,  have  been  applied  to  the  same  pur- 
pose.^ But  their  day  is  over,  and  now  all  depends  upon 
poor  Mr.  Valentine  Greatrix. 

'  The  miracles  of  the  Old  Testament  were  all  per- 
formed in  those  ages,  of  which  we  have  no  creditable 
history.' — (p.  3.)  Pardon  me — there  cannot  be  a  more 
creditable  history  than  that  of  Moses  ;  since  it  is  impos- 
sible that  he  could  have  written  or  the  Israelites  re- 
ceived his  history,  had  it  not  been  true.  Would  he, 
think  you,  have  called  them  together,  and  told  them  to 
their  faces,  they  had  all  heard  and  seen  such  and  such 
wonders,  when  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  in  the 
company  knew  they  had  never  heard  or  seen  any  thing 
of  the  kind  ?  What  ?  not  cue  honest  soul  to  cry  out 
priestcraft,  and  imposture!  Let  these  gentlemen  try 
their  hands  in  this  way.  Let  one  of  them  assemble  the 
good  people  of  London  and  Westminster,  and  tell  them, 
that  on  a  certain  day  and  hour,  he  divided  the  Thames, 
and  led  them  on  dry  ground  over  to  Southwark ;  ap- 
pealing to  them  for  the  truth  of  what  he  says.  I  should 
like  to  see  the  event  of  such  an  appeal. '  There  are 
many  such  appeals  recorded  by  Moses  to  his  nation  ; 
and  the  book,  in  which  these  appeals  are  so  recorded, 
contains  the  municipal  law  by  which  that  nation  has 

f  fSee  Standard  Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  51.  82— 86. J 
«  [See  Foley's  Evidences,  Prop.  II.] 


LETTER  X.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  277 

been  governed,  from  the  days  of  Moses  to  the  dissolu- 
tion of  their  polity.  This  is  a  fact  without  a  parallel 
upon  earth ;  and  let  any  man  produce  an  hypothesis  to 
account  for  it,  consistently  with  the  idea  of  Moses  being 
a  deceiver,  which  will  abide  the  test  of  common  sense 
for  five  minutes.  If  the  deists  can  reason  us  out  of  our 
faith,  let  them  do  so :  but  we  are  not  weak  enough,  as 
yet,  to  be  sneered,  or  scoffed  out  of  it. 

'  What  reply  can  be  made  to  those  who  affirm,  that 
miracles  have  always  been  confined  to  the  early  and 
fabulous  ages  ?'— (p.  3.)  The  reply  is  easy — that  mi- 
racles were  performed,  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  in 
the  age  of  all  others  esteemed  the  most  polite  and 
learned ;  and  that  the  adversaries  of  Christianity,  in 
those  days,  never  thought  of  denying  the  facts.  It  was 
a  piece  of  assurance  reserved  for  these  latter  times. — 
'  That  all  nations  have  had  them ;  but  that  they  disap- 
peared in  proportion  as  men  became  enlightened,  and 
capable  of  discovering  imposture.'  Many  nations  have 
had  them,  true  or  false  ;  the  false  disappeared,  when 
discovered  to  be  so ;  but  the  true  will  abide  for  ever. 
The  Jewish  rulers  had  their  senses  about  them,  as  much 
as  other  people ;  and  those  senses  sharpened  to  the  ut- 
most, by  envy  and  malice.  Yet  were  they  obliged  to 
confess — "  This  man  doth  many  miracles.'"'  It  may 
be  added,  that  had  there  been  no  genuine  miracles, 
there  would  have  been  no  counterfeits. 

Upon  the  whole — in  this  section,  on  so  leading  an 
article,  the  infidels  have  made  no  considerable  progress. 
Rather,  they  can  hardly  be  said,  in  the  nautical  phrase, 
to  have  got  under  way. 


LETTER  X. 

Our  infidels  seem  inclined  to  deny  that  Moses  was 
the  author  of  the  books  that  go  under  his  name.  To 
this  purpose,  they  observe  (and  the  observation  is  cer- 
tainly a  judicious  one)  that  he  could  not  have  written 

h  John  xi.  47. 


'^78  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.      [LETTER  X. 

the  account  of  his  own  death,  which  occurs  in  the  last 
chapter  of  Deuteronomy.  There  are  likewise,  as  we 
all  very  well  know,  a  few  other  passages,  here  and 
there,  allowed  both  by  Jews  and  Christians,  to  have 
been  inserted  since  his  time.  But  these  will  never  pre- 
vent us  from  looking  upon  him  as  the  author  of  the 
Pentateuch,  any  more  than  a  few  interpolated  passages 
in  the  works  of  Josephus  prevent  us  from  ascribing 
those  works  to  that  author.  The  Pentateuch  and  the 
institutions  it  prescribes  have  been  in  being  ever  since 
the  days  of  Moses :  how,  when,  and  by  whom,  could 
they  have  been  forged  ? 

But  they  themselves  do  not  build  much  on  this  part 
of  their  performance ;  for  they  say,  p.  4,  '  Supposing 
these  and  all  other  objections  of  the  like  nature  remov- 
ed,'— which  they  therefore  suppose  may  be  removed — 
'  the  Scripture  is  frequently  contradictory  with  regard 
to  facts.' — Perhaps  not.  At  least  we  must  have  some 
proof;  and  so,  in  their  own  words,  vide  infra. — 'And 
represents  the  all-wise  Creator  as  angry,  'arbitrary,  and' 
in  short,  'as  a  demon.'  That  it  represents  him  as  '  an- 
gry' and  'repenting,'  is  true;  it  likewise  'represents 
him'  as  'coming  down,'  and  'going  up'— all  in  conde- 
scension to  our  capacities,  and  'after  the  majiner  of 
men,'  as  every  child  knows  among  us.  Nor  can  we 
speak  of  the  Deity  in  any  other  manner,  if  we  v.^ould 
speak  intelligibly  to  the  generality  of  mankind.' 

That  the  Scripture  should  represent  God  as  'unjust, 
arbitrary,  and  a  demon,'  is  very  bad  indeed.  Let  us 
hope  better  things  than  these  of  the  Scriptures,  how- 
ever. When  the  several  charges  are  brought  forward, 
we  must  endeavor  to  answer  them  ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  jokes  of  these  gentlemen  about  the  jJiUory^  one 
or  other  of  us,  I  am  afraid,  will  be  found  to  deserve  it. 

'  Did  God  create  light  before  the  sun  V — (p.  5.)  Most 
assuredly.  Why  not ?  When  the  orb  of  the  sun  Mas 
formed  on  the  fourth  day,  it  became  the  appointed  re- 
ceptacle of  light,  from  whence  that  glorious  fluid  was 
to  be  dispensed,  for  the  benefit  of  the  system. •-'     Before 

'  Se€  a  remarkable  acknowledgment  of  this  point  by  Collins^  in 
LF.i.ANn's  View  of  Dcistical  Writers,  Letter  xxix.  Vol.  II.  p.  125. 

k  [The  advanced  discoveries  of  modern  physiologists  relative  to  the 
nature  and  agency  of  '  caloric,''  its  existence  in  a  state  denominated 


LETTER  X.]         LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  279 

the  formation  of  the  solar  orb,  light  was  supported  in 
action  by  some  other  means,  as  seemed  good  to  the 
Creator.  The  earth  might  be  made  to  revolve  by  the 
same  agency,  and  then  another  question  is  answered, 
*How  could  time  be  divided  into  days,  before  the  cre- 
ation of  the  sun,  since  a  day  is  the  time  between  sun- 
rise and  sunrise  V 

'How  could  God  divide  the  light  from  darkness,  since 
darkness  is  nothing  but  the  mere  privation  of  light?' — 
(p.  5.)  The  light  was  divided  from  the  darkness,  as  it 
is  now,  by  the  interposition  of  the  earth.  This  is  plain, 
because  it  follows,  '  God  called  the  light  Day  and  the 
darkness  he  cal||pd  Night.'  Day  was  the  state  of  the 
hemisphere,  on  which  light  irradiated  ;  and  Night  was 
the  state  of  the  opposite  hemisphere,  on  which  rested 
the  shadow  projected  by  the  body  of  the  earth.  I  see 
no  absurdity  in  all  this.  But  the  assertion  that  '  dark- 
ness is  nothing  but  the  mere  privation  of  light,'  may  be 
controverted.  When  Moses  says,  that  '  darkness  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep,'  he  did  not  mean  that  nothing 
was  there.  Of  the  darkness  in  Egypt  it  is  said,  that  it 
'might  be  felt.^  And  if  the  fire  at  the  solar  orb  could 
be  suddenly  extinguished,  the  whole  body  of  the  celes- 
tial fluid  would  in  all  probability  instantly  become  a 
torpid  congealed  mass,  and  bind  the  creation  in  chains 
of  adamant.  At  the  beginning  'light  was  formed  out 
of  darkness ;'  and  therefore  the  truth  seems  to  be  this. 
In  Scripture  language,  light  is  the  celestial  fluid,  in  a 
certain  condition,  and  a  certain  degree  of  motion ;  and 
darkness  is  the  same  fluid  in  a  different  condition,  and 
without  that  degree  of  motion,  or  when  such  motion  is 
interrupted  by  the  interposition  of  an  opaque  body.  A 
room,  for  example,  is  full  of  light :  close  the  shutters, 
and  that  light  instantly  disappears.  But  what  is  become 
of  it  ?  It  is  not  annihilated.  No  :  the  substance,  which 
occasioned  the  sensation  of  light  to  the  eye,  is  still  pre- 
sent, as  before,  but  occasions  that  sensation  no  longer.^ 


latent,  and  its  connexion  with  li^^ht,  render  this  objection  not  only 
nugatory,  but  perfectly  ridiculous.      It  proceeds,  moreover,  upon  the 
assumption  of  an  interpretation  of  the  Mosaic  history  of  the  creation 
which  is  far  from  being  either  necessary,  or  universally  received.] 
>  [The  reader  may  perceive  in  this  paragraph,  and  occasionally  in 


280  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  [LETTER  X. 

'  How  could  the  firmament  be  created,  since  there  is 
no  firmament,  and  the  false  notion  of  its  existence  is 
no  more  than  an  imagination  of  the  ancient  Grecians  V 
— (p.  5.)  Never  again  let  critics,  while  they  live,  under- 
take to  censure  the  writings  of  an  author,  before  they 
understand  something  of  the  language  in  which  he 
wrote.  The  Greek  version  of  the  LXX.  has  indeed 
given  us  the  word  g-;psw|xa,  which  has  produced  in  our 
translation  the  corresponding  word  Jirviar/ient.  But 
these  terms  by  no  means  furnish  us  with  the  true  idea 
of  the  original  word,  which  is  derived  from  a  verb  sig- 
nifying, to  spread  abroad,  expand,  enlarge,  make  thin, 
<SfC,  The  proper  rendering  then  is,  thd^jmnsion.  But 
expansion  of  what  ?  Doubtless,  of  the  celestial  fluid 
before  mentioned,  of  light,  air,  ether,  or  whatever  you 
please  to  call  it.  In  Scripture  it  is  styled  the  heavens. 
— "  Who  stretcheth  forth  the  heavens  Hke  a  curtain.""' 
"  That  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain,  and 
spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in.""  How  far 
this  expansion  of  the  heavens  extends,  is  another  ques- 
tion. That  portion  of  it  diffused  around  the  world  is 
well  known  by  the  name  of  the  atmosphere ;  and  its 
force  may  at  any  time  be  felt  by  the  hand,  when  laid 
on  the  aperture  of  an  exhausted  receiver.  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  appears  to  have  thought  that  it  might  reach 
to  the  orb  of  Saturn,  and  beyond,  even  through  all  the 
celestial  spaces.  It  seems  to  go  out  from  one  part  of 
the  system,  and  circulate  to  another,  and  nothing  is 
hidden  from  its  influence  ;  to  be  in  every  place,  and  to 
possess  powers  which  nothing  is  able  to  withstand. 
The  Royal  Society,  by  its  late  worthy  president,  ear- 
nestly requested  Dr.  Priestley  to  make  inquiry  after 
this  same  wonderful  substance,  so  that,  by  and  by,  it  is 
likely,  we  may  hear  more  of  it ;"  and  gentlemen  may 


some  that  follow,  traces  of  the  scheme  of  philosophy  called  the  Hutcli- 
insonian.  It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  they  are  introduced,  not 
as  the  basis  of  argument,  but  in  illustration.  Let  them  pass  for  what 
they  are  worth.] 

"'  Ps.  civ.  2.        "  Isa.  xl.  22. 

°  Many  curious  particulars  concerning  that,  and  other  subjects  con- 
nected with  it,  have  already  been  communicated  to  the  world  by  the 
Keverend  ami  learned  Mr.  Jonks  [Wm.  Jones,  of  Navland]  in  his  very 


LETTER  X.]  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  281 

by  degrees  be  induced  to  entertain  a  more  favorable 
opinion  of  the  Jewish  legislator  ;  as  it  is  said  of  a  great 
man,  some  years  ago,  that  having,  in  the  decline  of  life, 
accidentally  dipped  into  a  Bible,  he  declared,  "  He 
found  Moses  to  be  a  clever  fellow  ;  and  if  he  had  met 
him  a  little  sooner,  he  did  not  know  but  he  might  have 
read  him  through." 

'  How  shall  we  explain  the  business  of  the  tree  of 
knowledgeof  good  and  evil,  and  of  a  tree  of  life?' — (p.  6.) 
As  my  lords  the  bishops  have  kindly  taken  so  much 
pains  to  bring  the  infidels  into  a  good  way  of  spending 
their  Sunday  evenings  at  home,  I  think  it  would  not  be 
amiss,  if  they  were  now  and  then,  at  such  times,  to  read 
a  sermon.  Let  me  therefore  recommend  to  them  four 
discourses,  by  the  present  Dean  of  Canterbury,  on  the 
creation  of  man,  the  garden  of  Eden,  the  tree  of  life, 
and  the  tree  of  knowledge."  It  may  appear,  })erhaps, 
that  the  Mosaic  history  is  not  necessarily  so  pregnant 
with  absurdities,  as  they  are  apt  to  suppose  ;  but  that  a 
rational  account  may  be  given  of  man's  primeval  state, 
as  there  described,  and  of  that  trial  to  which  he  was 
subjected  by  his  Maker. 

In  another  part  of  the  pamphlet,  (p.  39,)  it  is  objected 
to  us,  '  that  Adam  was  threatened  with  death  on  the  day 
of  his  transgression,  but  lived  at  least  eight  hundred 
years  afterwards.'  The  execution  of  the  sentence,  then, 
was  respited  in  consideration  of  his  repentance,  agree- 
ably to  the  proceedings  of  God  with  his  descendants, 
both  individuals  and  communities,  in  numberless  in- 
stances upon  record.  Transgression  rendered  him 
mortal,  and  his  life  was  henceforward  a  gradual  pro- 
gress, through  labor,  pain,  and  sorrow,  towards  death. 


valuable  work  entitled  Physiological  Disquisitions,  or  Discourses  on 
the  Xatiiral  Philosophy  of  the  Elements. -^[Bp.  Horxe's  anticipations 
have  been  more  than  realized.  Dr.  Priestley's  investig^ions  opened 
the  way  to  the  extraordinary  accessions  since  made  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  airs,  (or  gases,  as  they  are  now  termed,) — accessions  which,  at 
the  least,  may  serve  to  silence  the  cavils  of  skeptics,  by  proving  how 
much  we  have  yet  to  learn  even  concerning  the  constitution  of  the 
globe  that  we  inhabit.] 

0  [Four  of  Bp.  Horne's  own  Sermons.] 


282  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  XI. 


LETTER  XI. 

'  Is  the  account  of  the  fall  of  man,  in  the  book  of 
Genesis,  physical  or  allegorical  V — (p.  3.)  I  apprehend 
it  to  be  an  historical  narrative  of  what  really  passed  in 
the  garden  of  Eden.  With  regard  to  the  parties  con- 
cerned, there  is  no  dispute  concerning  three  of  them, 
the  Creator,  the  man,  and  the  woman.  But  there  ap- 
pears a  fourth,  whose  nature  is  not  so  easy  to  ascertain. 
He  is  called  the  serpent  ;  but  is  throughout  repre- 
sented as  an  intelligent  being,  and  treated  as  such.  He 
proves  himself  also  to  be  the  tempter.  Can  we  doubt 
for  a  moment,  who  this  being  is?  The  serpent,?  the 
OLD  serpent,''  the  dragon,'  are  the  appellations  be- 
stowed in  the  New  Testament,  upon  the  great  adver- 
sary of  mankind,  the  tempter,"  the  deceiver,'  the  ac- 
cuser," the  murderer.^  One  question  remains — whe- 
ther, upon  the  occasion  before  us,  he  assumed  the  form 
of  the  natural  serpent,  or  be  only  described  under  the 
name,  and  by  imagery  and  expressions  borrowed  from 
the  corresponding  nature  and  qualities  of  that  creature, 
and  applied  to  him  by  analogy  ?  Either  way,  it  is  be- 
yond all  controversy  with  us  who  believe  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  HE  is  the  principal  agent  in  the  whole  affair : 
HE  is  all  along  intended  and  addressed  ;  on  him  was 
the  weight  and  force  of  the  tremendous  sentence  to 
light ;  between  his  seed  and  that  of  the  woman  was  the 
enmity  to  subsist ;  and  his  head  was  finally  to  be 
crushed  by  the  victorious  Messiah.  However  Christians 
may  have  differed  in  their  interpretation  of  particular 
words  and  phrases,  this  is  the  substance  of  what  always 
has  been,  and  always  must  be  maintained  among  them, 
upon  the  subject.  If  all  be  confined  to  the  natural  ser- 
pent, or  beast  of  the  field,  the  account  must  then  be,  as 
Dr.  Middleton^  contends,  an  apologue,  or  fable,  with 

p  Rev.  xii.  9.  14, 15.  1  Rev.  xx.  2.  '  Rev.  xiu.  2.  xx.  2. 

»  Matt.  iv.  3.  1  Thess.  iv.  5.  '  Rev,  xii.  9.  John  viii.  44.  »  Rev. 
xu.  10.        T  John  viii.  44. 

*  [CoNYERs  MiDDLETON,  D.  D.,  Librarian  of  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge, who  died  in  1750 :— a  man  who,  while  he  bore  the  clerical 
character,  and  professed  the  Christian  faith,  employed  his  talents  and 


LETTER  XI.]   LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  283 

a  moral  couched  under  it.  But  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  ever  refer  to  it  as  a  true  history,  and  invari- 
ably declare  Satan  to  have  been  the  serpent,  who 
"  through  his  subtlety  deceived  Eve."  The  account  of 
man's  redemption  is  no  apologue^  but  true  history, 
built  upon  and  presupposing  the  truth  and  reality  of  his 
temptation  and  fall,  effected  by  the  wiles  of  his  enemy ; 
who  for  that  reason,  was  to  be  crushed,  together  with 
his  works,  by  the  power  of  the  Redeemer.  As  to  the 
change  wrought  in  the  natural  serpent  after  the  fall  (a 
subject  on  which  the  infidels  divert  themselves  more 
than  they  divert  any  body  else)  no  man  can  deny  that 
a  change  might  take  place  ;  and  no  man  can  precisely 
ascertain  the  nature  of  such  change,  unless  he  knew  the 
form  in  which  that  species  of  creatures  was  originally 
made.  Nor  does  the  sentence  (so  far  as  it  may  relate 
to  the  natural  serpent)  imply,  that  he  should  choose  dust 
for  his  food,  or  that  it  should  be  his  only  food.  They 
who  grovel  in  dust,  must  sometimes  come  in  for  a 
mouthful.  The  expression  intimates  to  us  the  very 
lowest  degree  of  prostration,  humiliaiion,  and  the  most 
abject  wretchedness,  similar  to  that  other  of  the  prophet, 
'  His  enemies  shall  lick  the  dust.'' — Let  gentlemen  take 
care,  that  they  are  not  of  the  number.  The  history  of 
man's  fall  is  no  fable,  and  will  hereafter  be  found  no 
jest.^ 

'  A  tree  of  life,  which  God  was  obliged  to  guard  by 
Cherubim  and  a  flaming  sword,  lest  man  should  eat  of 
the  fruit,  and  become  immortal.' — (p.  6.)  The  passage 
here  alluded  to  has  long  been  a  subject  of  ridicule  among 
unbelievers.  It  may  perhaps  cease  to  be  so,  when  the 
following  particulars  are  duly  weighed  and  considered. 
1.  There  is  no  reason  in  the  world  for  supposing  the 
Cherubim  here  mentioned  to  have  been  different  from 
those  described  at  large,  as  exhibited  in  vision  to  Ezekiel, 
figures  of  which  were  placed  in  the  tabernacle  and  tern- 


learning  (both  considerable)  in  the  cause  of  infidelity,  and  by  his 
writings  did  more  perhaps  to  injure  the  cause  of  Christianity  than  the 
most  notorious  infidel  of  the  age.  See  an  anecdote  of  him  in  Standard 
Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  9.] 

^  [See  the  full  discussion  of  the  subject  of  this  paragraph  in  the  ex- 
tract from  Sherlock's  Discourses  on  Prophecy^  in  Standard  Works:, 
Vol.  I.  p.  227.  ss.] 

Vol.  v.— 35 


284  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.       [LETTER   XI. 

pie.  Moses  says,  '  God  placed  Cherubim.^  The  people 
for  whom  he  wrote  were  perfectly  well  acquainted  with 
the  nature,  form,  and  design  of  them.  The  prophet, 
upon  beholding  them  in  vision,  declares,  "  I  knew  that 
they  were  the  Cherubim.''-  2.  The  words  rendered  in 
our  translation,  "  A  flaming  sword  turning  every  way," 
may,  and  it  is  apprehended,  ought  to  be  rendered,  "  A 
devouring  fire,  turning  or  rolling  upon  itself;"  as  the 
Cherubim,  which  Ezekiel  saw,  are  said  to  have  stood  in 
the  midst  of  a  fire,  '  catching  or  infolding  itself.'  The 
expressions  are  equivalent,  and  correspond  exactly.  3, 
This  body  of  fire,  generally  attended  by,  and  subsisting 
in  a  cloud,  is  styled  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord  ;"  and 
always  accompanied  the  appearance  of  the  Cherubim. 
4.  The  most  ancient  expositions  left  in  the  world,  which 
are  the  two  Jewish  Targums,  paraphrase  the  verse 
thus  :  "  And  he  thrust  out  the  man,  and  caused  the  glory 
of  his  presence  to  dwell  of  old,  at  the  east  end  of  the 
garden  of  Eden,  above  the  two  Cherubim."  5.  If  such 
be  the  real  import  of  the  passage,  and  it  relate  only  to 
the  manifestation  of  the  Divine  presence,  by  its  well- 
known  symbol,  above  or  between  the  Cherubim,  may 
we  not  fairly  and  reasonably  conclude,  that  the  design 
of  such  manifestation,  at  the  east  end  of  the  garden  of 
Eden,  was  the  same  as  it  wa^  confessedly  afterwards,  in 
the  tabernacle  and  temple :  viz.  to  reveal  the  will  of 
God  for  the  conduct  of  his  people ;  to  accept  the  sacri- 
fices ofiered  to  him ;  and  favorably  to  regard  the  prefi- 
gurative  atonement  made  by  "  the  sprinkling  of  blood, 
without  which  there  was  (after  the  fall)  no  remission  ?" 
And  all  this  was  done  to  "  keep,"  or  preserve,  "the 
way  to  the  Tree  of  Life,"  immortality  being  now  the 
object  of  a  new  covenant,  with  other  conditions.  There 
were  good  reasons  why  our  first  parent  should  not  be 
suficred,  in  the  state  to  which  he  had  reduced  himself, 
to  "  put  forth  his  hand,  and  take,  and  eat."  The  dis- 
pensation of  Eden  was  at  an  end.  Old  sacraments  were 
abolished  and.  new  ones  were  to  be  instituted.  In  the 
spirit  of  repentance  and  faith,  the  delinquents  were  to 
wait,  'till  one  happier  man  should  regain  the  blissful 
seat,'   and  open  "the  kingdom   of  heaven  to   all  be- 


Ezek.  X.  20. 


LETTER  XII.]      LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  285 

Ijevers;"  himself  the  true  tree  of  life  in  the  para- 
dise OF  God.  ' 

To  the  learned  and  candid  of  all  denominations  these 
remarks  are  submitted.  If  there  be  any  thing  in  them, 
the  text  in  question,  which  has  been  so  long  the  butt  of 
infidels,  and  the  stumbling  block  of  believers,  not  only 
becomes  cleared  of  its  difficulties,  but  throws  a  light  and 
a  glory  over  the  whole  patriarchal  dispensation. 


LETTER  XII. 

'  The  account  of  the  flood  is  very  embarrassing.' — 
{p.  7.)  Possibly  it  may.  There  was  a  great  deal  done  in 
a  little  time ;  and  neither  these  gentlemen  nor  myself 
were  present  to  see  how  it  was  done. 

'From  whence  came  the  water?' — (ib.)  From  the 
place  to  which  it  returned,  and  in  which  it  has  remained, 
(God  be  praised !)  ever  since.  The  globe  of  the  earth, 
as  the  Scriptures  inform  us,  is  a  shell,  or  hollow  sphere, 
enclosing  within  it  a  body  of  waters,  styled  '  the  great 
deep,'  or  abyss.  The  earth,  at  the  creation,  was  covered 
on  all  sides  with  water,  which,  at  the  command  of  God, 
retired  to  this  abyss  beneath,  from  whence,  at  the  same 
command,  it  came  forth  in  the  days  of  Noah  ;  and  having 
performed  its  task,  was  again  dismissed,  as  before. 
"  The  fountains  of  the  great  deep,"  by  the  divine  power, 
were  "  broken  up  ;"  gravity,  for  a  time,  was  suspended, 
or  overcome  ;  the  waters  were  violently  thrown  up- 
wards into  the  atmosphere,  and  descended  in  torrents 
and  cataracts  of  rain.  If  we  measure  the  circumference 
of  the  earth,  and  guage  its  contents,  we  shall  find  water 
enough,  I  dare  say,  to  answer  every  purpose  mentioned 
in  the  book  of  Genesis."-  The  shells,  and  other  marine 
bodies,  deposited  in  the  bowels  and  on  the  tops  of  the 
highest  mountains,  all  the  world  over,  afford  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  the  waters  have  been  there.  If  any  one  can  give " 

*  "Some  are  puzzled  to  find  water  enough  to  form  a  universal  deluge  : 
to  assist  their  endeavors  it  may  be  remarked,  that  was  it  all  precipitated 
which  is  dissolved  in  the  air,  it  might  probably  be  sufficient  to  cover  the 
surface  of  the  whole  earth  to  the  depth  of  above  thirty  feet."  Watson's 
Chemical  Essays,  Vol.  III.  p.  87. 


286  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  XII* 

a  better  account  than  Moses  has  done,  when  and  how 
they  came  there,  e'en  let  us  have  it.''  A  learned  and 
respectable  person  expresses  his  surprise,  that  the 
shell-fish  should  transport  themselves  from  the  bed  of 
the  ocean,  where  they  were  much  better  accommodated, 
to  so  uncomfortable  a  situation  as  the  summit  of  a  barren 
mountain.  Alas,  worthy  sir,  it  was  no  party  of  pleasure  ! 
Whenever  they  took  the  journey,  depend  upon  it,  it  was 
— "  upon  compulsion,  Hal !"  '  Neither  can  we  easily 
persuade  infidels,  that  the  windows  of  heaven  were 
opened,  while  they  know  it  has  no  windows.' — (p.  8.) 
They  can  know  nothing-  of  the  matter,  till  they  know 
the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  and  its  usage  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, where  the  heavens  are  said  to  be  opened  when  it 
rains,  and  shut  when  rain  is  withholden,  and  the  like. 
What  is  more  common  than  such  modes  of  expression 
are  in  all  languages  ?  Suppose,  to  describe  an  uncom- 
mon fall  of  rain,  I  should  say,  '  the  sluices  of  heaven 
were  opened,'  would  it  not  be  the  height  of  absurdity  to 
reply,  that  '  the  sluices  of  heaven  canno.t  be  opened, 
because  it  has  no  sluices  V  Every  body  knows  the  ex- 
pression to  be  metaphorical.  But  the  truth  is,  that  the 
original  word"  does  not  signify  windows,  according  to 
the  modern  idea,  but  rather  clefts,  fissures,  passages  : 
these  were  opened — the  clouds  were  rent,  as  we  say. 
The  waters  rising  from  beneath  met  the  rains  descend- 
ing from  above,  and,  uniting  their  forces,  they  deluged 
the  world. 

'  It  (the  flood)  ceased  not  by  annihilation  of  the  wa- 
ters, but  they  were  evaporated  by  a  wind.' — (p.  7.) 
There  was  no  occasion  for  annihilating  the  waters. 
They  returned  to  the  place  from  whence  they  came. 
And  as  to  the  wind,  which  God  caused  to  pass  over  the 
earth,  it  was  not  intended  to  merely  evaporate,  but,  like 
that  which  moved  upon  the  chaos  at  the  creation,  to 
separate  the  waters  from  the  earth,  and  carry  them 
down  to  their  former  habitation.  We  have  no  adequate 
idea,  perhaps,  of  this  element,  the  air,  and  of  what 


•^  [The  insurmountable  difficulty  which  the  mass  of  evidence  in 
proof  of  a  universal  deluge  throws  in  the  way  of  infidels,  is  clearly 
exhibited  by  Faber,  Difficulties  of  Infidelity,  Sect,  iii.l 


LETTER  XII.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  287 

mighty  things  it  can  effect,  when  employed  in  full  force 
by  its  Creator. 

'  It  seems  strange,  that  so  vast  an  assemblage  of  ani- 
mals could  be  enclosed  in  an  ark  or  chest.'' — (p.  8.)  But 
why  chest  ?  The  Hebrew  word  is  used  only  for  this 
ark  of  Noah,  and  that  in  which  the  child  Moses  was 
committed  to  the  Nile ;  both  hollow  vessels,  constructed 
to  float  upon  the  waters.  But  there  was  something 
pleasant  in  the  notion  of  the  whole  animal  world  being 
shut  up  in  a  chest ;  and  the  temptation  was  not  to  be 
resisted.  '  Which  had  but  one  window  (which  window 
was  kept  shut  for  more  than  five  months)  without  being 
stifled  for  want  of  air.' 

'  All  this,'  the  infidels  say,  '  seems  strange.' — It  does 
so ;  but  it  is  not  more  strange  than  true.  That  air  would 
be  necessary  to  support  the  life  of  the  creatures  enclosed 
in  the  ark,  was  as  well  known  to  Him  who  enjoined  it  to 
be  built,,  as  it  can  be  to  them.  Our  conclusion  therefore 
is,  that  either  a  proper  supply  of  it  w^as  conveyed  in  some 
manner  from  without,  or  else  the  air  within,  by  meaiis 
natural  or  preternatural,  was  preserved  in  a  state  fit  for 
respiration.  There  might  be  various  contrivances  in 
and  about  the  ark,  which  are  not  mentioned  in  so  concise 
a  history.  The  general  facts,  of  which  it  concerns  us 
to  be  informed,  are  these  two  ;  that  the  world  was 
destroyed  by  a  flood  ;  and  that  one  family,  with  a  num- 
ber of  animals  sufficient  to  replenish  the  earth,  was 
preserved  in  a  vessel  constructed  for  that  purpose. 

It  is  asked  further,  'how  the  small  family  in  the  ark 
could  give  due  attendance  to  the  wants  of  so  many 
creatures ;  and  how  the  carnivorous  animals  were 
supplied  with  food  proper  for  them?' — Many  more 
questions  of  a  like  kind  might  easily  be  asked,  if  one 
were  to  set  one's  wits  to  work  upon  the  subject.  But  it 
should  be  considered,  that  the  author  who  relates  this 
transaction,  relates  it  to  have  been  carried  on  under  the 
immediate  direction  and  inspection  of  God.  By  Divine 
power  the  creatures  were  brought  to  Noah,  and  the 
fierce  dispositions  of  the  wild  kind  overruled  and 
mollified,  that  they  might  live  quietly  and  peaceably 
with  one  another,  and  with  those  of  the  tame  sort,  for 
the  time  appointed.  Otherwise,  instead  of  asking  how 
they  were  taken  care  of  and  fed  in  the  ark,  it  should 
^5* 


288  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [lETTER  XIU 

first  have  been  asked,  how  they  came  into  it,  or  staid  at 
single  moment  in  it,  before  the  flood  began  ? — When 
"  the  wolf  thus  dwelt  with  the  lamb,  the  lion  might  eat 
hay  like  the  ox." — We  should  not  recur  to  miracles  upon 
every  occasion;  but  if  the  event  under  consideration  took 
place  at  all,  it  must  from  the  very  nature  of  it,  have 
been  miraculous,  and  out  of  the  common  course,  as  it  is 
said  to  have  been.  Some  means  of  preserving  the  fish 
might  therefore  be  provided  by  their  Maker,  notwith- 
standing the  dilemma  to  which  the  learned  and  respect- 
able writer  above  mentioned  hath  reduced  us.  'The 
water  at  the  deluge  (says  he)  was  neither  fresh  nor 
salt:  now  the  sea  fish  could  not  have  lived  in  the  former, 
nor  the  river  fish  in  the  latter.' — Close  and  clever! 

It  is  argued  in  the  8th  section,  that  according  to  the 
laws  ofreflection  and  refraction  established  in  the  system 
of  nature,  the  phenomenon  of  the  rainbow  must  have 
been  produced,  as  it  is  now  in  certain  circumstances, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  ;  and  therefore  could 
not  have  been  first  set  in  the  cloud 
rovena;nt  with  man,  after  the  flood. 

But  do  the  words  necessarily  imply,  that  the  rainbow 
had  never  appeared  before  ?  Rather,  perhaps  the  con- 
trary. The  following  paraphrase  of  the  passage  is  sub- 
mitted, as  a  just  and  natural  one.  '  When,  in  the  com- 
mon course  of  things,  I  bring  a  cloud  over  the  earth, 
under  certain  circumstances,  I  do  set  my  bow  in  it. 
That  bow  shall  be  from  henceforth  a  token  of  the  cove- 
nant I  now  make  with  you  to  drown  the  earth  no  more 
by  a  flood.  Look  upon  it  and  remember  this  covenant. 
As  certainly  as  the  bow  is  formed,  by  the  operation  of 
physical  causes,  in  the  cloud,  and  as  long  as  it  continues 
to  be  thus  formed,  so  certainly,  and  so  long  shall  my 
covenant  endure  ;  standing  fast  for  evermore,  as  this 
faithful  witness  in  heaven.'  Jacob,  we  are  told,''  'took 
a  stone,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar,  and  said,  This  pillar 
be  witness.'  God  in  like  manner,  (if  we  may  so  ex- 
press it)  'took  the  rainbow,  and  said.  This  bow  be  wit- 
ness.' Neither  the  stone  nor  the  rainbow  were  new 
created  for  the  purpose.  When  the  Jews  behold  the 
rainbow,  they  bless  God,  who  remembers  his  covenant, 

J  (icncuis  xxxi.  45.  52. 


LETTER  XIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  289 

and  is  faithful  to  his  promise.  And  the  tradition  of 
this  its  designation  to  proclaim  comfort  to  mankind 
was  strong  among  the  Heathen  ;  for  according  to  the 
mythology  of  the  Greeks,  the  rainbow  was  the  daughter 
of  Wonder,  '  a  sign  to  mortal  men,'''  and  regarded 
upon  its  appearance,  as  the  messenger  from  the  ce- 
lestial deities.  Can  we  any  where  find  a  more  striking 
instance  of  the  sublime,  than  in  the  following  short 
description  of  it  ?  "  Look  upon  the  rainbow,  and 
praise  him  who  made  it :  very  beautiful  it  is  in  the 
brightness  thereof:  it  compasseth  the  heavens  about 
with  a  glorious  circle  ;  and  the  hands  of  the  Most  High 
have  bended  it !" 


LETTER  XHI. 

'What  answer  shall  we  give  to  those  who  are  inclined 
to  deny,  that  an  all  powerful  and  just  God  could  make 
use  of  the  most  unjustifiable  means  to  attain  his  great 
purpose  of  aggrandizing  the  posterity  of  Abraham?' — 
(p.  10.)  The  answer,  without  doubt,  must  be,  either 
that  the  means  in  question  (all  circumstances  duly  known 
and  considered)  were  not  unjustifiable;  or,  that  they 
were  used  by  man,  and  only  permitted  by  God.  For 
men  often  make  use  of  means  to  attain  their  own  pur- 
poses, by  which  they  unwittingly  become  the  instru- 
ments of  carrying  into  execution  the  counsels  of  God; 
yet  they  are  not  hereby  justified  in  the  use  of  such 
means.  All  the  actions  of  holy  men  of  old  are  not 
blameless,  because  related  in  Scripture,  or  because  re- 
lated of  them;  though  there  may  often  have  been  cir- 
cumstances, imperfectly  known  at  this  distance  of  time, 
which  rendered  them  less  blameable  than  they  now  ap- 
pear to  be ;  and  therefore  they  are  not  to  be  judged  of, 
without  great  caution  and  circumspection.  These,  per- 
haps, are  in  no  instances  more  necessary,  for  that  rea- 
son, to  be  observed,  than  in  reviewing  those  parts  of 
sacred  story,  which  relate  to  the  birthright  and  blessing" 
of  the  ancient  patriarchs. 

e  Tepaj  jiEponiiiv  av^pwn'ojv. — HOMER. 


290  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  XIII. 

'Could  this  benevolent  and  just  being  approve  of  the 
ungenerous  advantage  which  Jacob  took  over  his  faint 
and  hungry  brother  V — That  the  crime  of  Esau,  in  being 
so  ready  to  part  with  his  birthright,  was  of  a  more 
atrocious  nature  than  at  first  sight  it  may  seem  to  have 
been,  is  evident  from  the  remark  subjoined  in  the  narra- 
tive ;  'thus  Esau  despised  his  birthright ;'  as  also  his 
being  stigmatized  by  St.  Paul  with  an  epithet  denoting 
profaneness  and  impiety,^  qualities  which  w^erc  there- 
fore manifested  in  the  act  of  lightly  and  wantonly 
parting  with  the  birthright,  and  those  high  and  hea- 
venly privileges  annexed  to  it.  I  say  lightly  and  wan- 
tonly; because,  though  he  returned  faint  and  hungry 
from  the  field,  there  could  be  no  danger  of  his  starving 
in  his  father's  house.  He  parted  with  it,  as  men  often 
do  now,  for  the  sake  of  gratifying  a  liquorish  appetite 
towards  that  which  was  his  brother's,  '  for  one  morsel 
of  meat,'  one  particular  dish,  which  he  vehemently 
affected.  There  was  no  reason  why  a  privilege  thus 
rejected  should  be  again  conferred.  Like  the  Jews,  in 
an  instance  somewhat  similar,  he  'judged  himself  un- 
worthy.' He  cast  it  from  him,  and  it  became  another's. 
— With  regard  to  the  part  borne  by  Jacob,  in  buying 
what  Esau  was  so  ready  to  sell,  there  seems  no  necessity 
for  pronouncing  him  faultless.  The  fact  is  related,  like 
many  others,  without  approbation  or  censure  ;  and  the 
designs  of  God  were  accomplished  by  the  free  agency 
of  man.  To  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth, 
respecting  this  and  every  other  action  of  his  life, 

'Could  this  omnipotent  and  upright  Spirit  adoi)t  no 
method  of  distinguishing  his  favorite  Jacob,  but  that  of 
fraud  and  lies,  by  which  he  deprived  the  same  unsus- 
pecting brother  of  his  father's  blessing  V — {ih.)  The  fol- 
lowing considerations  may  assist  in  directing  us  to  form 
a  right  judgment  of  this  matter. — 1.  The  proposition  of 
deceiving  Isaac  originated  not  with  Jacob,  but  with  Rebe- 
kah.  Jacob  remonstrated  against  it,  as  likely  to  bring  a 
curse  upon  him  rather  than  a  blessing;  nor  would  consent 
to  perform  his  part  till  she  engaged  to  take  all  the  blame 
on  herself — 'On  me  be  the  curse,  my  son:  only  obey 
my  voice.' — 2.  From  this  speech,  and  from  the  earnest- 


D£6>?Xoj.     Hcb.  xii.  IG. 


LETTER  XIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  291 

ness  and  solicitude  discovered  by  Rebekah,  it  may  not 
unfairly  be  presumed,  that  she  had  some  special  reason 
lor  what  she  did  ;  that  Isaac  was  about  to  take  a  wrong 
step  in  a  concern  of  great  moment,  which  ought  to  be 
prevented,  and  could  be  prevented  by  no  other  means. 
— 3.  The  rectitude  of  Rebekah's  judgment  seems  evi- 
dently to  have  been  recognised  and  allowed  by  Isaac, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  matter.  For  though  he  had 
blessed  Jacob,  intending  to  bless  Esau,  yet,  as  if  recol- 
lecting himself,  he  confirmed  and  ratified  that  blessing 
in  the  strongest  terms  ;  'yea,  and  he  shall  be  blessed.' 
Still  further — at  sending  him  away,  he  again  repeated 
the  benediction  in  the  most  solemn  and  affecting  manner; 
'  God  give  thee  the  blessing  of  Abraham  !'  It  is  hard  to 
assign  any  other  reason,  why,  if  so  disposed,  upon  dis- 
covering the  fraud,  he  might  not  have  reversed  the 
proceeding.  Nay,  by  the  kind  meeting  of  the  brothers 
afterwards,  one  should  be  inclined  to  think  that  Esau 
himself  acquiesced  at  length  in  the  propriety  of  what 
had  been  done. — 4.  If  such  were  the  case,  Isaac  was  only 
deceived  into  what  was  right,  and  what  himself  acknow- 
ledged to  be  so  in  the  conclusion.  The  deception  was 
■  like  those  often  practised  by  physicians  for  the  benefit 
of  their  patients,  and  casuists  must  decide  upon  it  in  the 
same  manner.  The  ofience  of  Jacob  is  certainly  alle- 
viated, if  not  entirely  taken  off,  by  the  circumstance  of 
Rebekah  pledging  herself  to  bear  the  blame ;  as  the 
conduct  of  Rebekah  seems  justified  by  that  of  Isaac 
ratifying  and  confirming  to  Jacob  the  blessing  originally 
intended  for  Esau.  Upon  the  whole,  if  there  were  an 
ofl^ence,  it  was  one  that  might  be  forgiven  ;  and  if  God, 
notwithstanding,  continued  to  bless  Jacob,  he  did  for- 
give it,  and  had  reasons  for  so  doing.s 

'  In  short,  how  shall  we  justify  God  for  the  continual 
distinction  he  is  said  to  have  bestowed  on  a  people,  who 
from  their  own  annals  appear  to  have  been  unparalleled 
for  cruelty,  ingratitude,  inurbanity,  &:c.' — {ib.)  The 
article  of  cruelty,  for  proof  of  which  we  are  referred, 
in  a  note,  to  the  acts  of  Joshua,  may  be  deferred  till 
we  come  professedly  to  consider  those  acts.     Their 


s  [This  concluding  remark  is  an  abundantly  sufficient  answer  to  the 
cavil : — more  satisfactory,  perhaps,  than  the  reasoning  which  precedes.] 


292  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.        [LETTER  XIV. 

ingratitude  towards  God  their  Saviour  was  indeed 
liagrant ;  but  might  perhaps  be  matched  elsewhere.  As 
to  the  charge  of  inurbanity,  it  was  brought  against  them 
by  Voltaire,  who  spake  of  them  as  a  "  wretched  na- 
tion, ever  ignorant  and  vulgar,  and  strangers  to  the  art^.' 
The  following  reply  was  made  to  him.  When  the  infi- 
dels shall  have  duly  considered  it,  we  shall  hope  to  be 
favored  with  their  sentiments  upon  it. 

"  Does  it  become  you,  a  writer  of  the  18th  century,  to 
charge  the  ancient  Hebrews  with  ignorance  ?  A  people 
who,  while  your  barbarous  ancestors,  whilst  even  the 
Greeks  and  Latins,  wandering  in  the  woods,  could 
scarcely  procure  for  themselves  clothing  and  a  settled 
subsistence,  already  possessed  all  arts  of  necessity,  and 
some  of  mere  pleasure  ;  who  not  only  knew  how  to  feed 
and  rear  cattle,  till  the  earth,  work  up  wood,  stone,  and 
metals,  weave  cloths,  dye  wool,  embroider  stuffs,  polish 
and  engrave  on  precious  stones ;  but  who,  even  then, 
adding  to  manual  arts  those  of  taste  and  rejfinement, 
surveyed  land,  appointed  their  festivals  according  to 
the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  ennobled  their 
solemnities  by  the  pomp  of  ceremonies,  by  the  sound 
of  instruments,  music,  and  dancing ;  who  even  then 
committed  to  writing  the  history  of  the  origin  of  the 
world,  that  of  their  own  creation  and  their  ancestors  i 
who  had  poets  and  writers,  skilled  in  all  the  sciences 
then  known  ;  great  and  brave  commanders  ;  a  pure 
worship  ;  just  laws  ;  a  Avise  form  of  government ;  in 
short,  llie  onlj'-  one  of  all  ancient  nations,  that  has  left 
us  authentic  monuments  of  genius  and  literature.  Can 
this  nation  be  justly  charged  with  ignorance  and  in- 
urbanity  i""^ 


LETTER  XIV. 

'Unbelievers  affirm,  that  a  just  God  could  not 
punish  Pharaoh  for  a  hardness  of  heart,  of  which  he 

^•[Lcticrs  of  certain  Jews  to  M.  Voltaire,  p.  381,  ed.  Philad.,  1795. 
This  work,  replcto  with  sound  sense  and  keen  satire,  well  deserves  to 
he  consulted  by  any  one  who  has  been  perplexed  by  the  flippant  cavils 
of  infidels  against  the  Old  Testament  history.] 


LETTER  XIV.]     LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  293 

himself  (God)  was  evidently  the  cause.' — (p.  14.)  When 
we  meet  with  an  assertion  apparently  contrary  to  all  the 
truth  and  equity  in  the  world,  it  is  but  common  justice 
to  any  writer,  human  or  divine,  to  suppose  that  we  mis- 
take his  meaninfif,  and  that  the  expression  employed  to 
convey  it  is  capable  of  an  interpretation  different  from  that 
which  may  at  first  present  itself.  We  cannot  for  a  mo- 
ment imagine  that  God  secretly  influences  a  man's  will, 
or  suggests  any  wicked,  stubborn  resolution  to  his  mind, 
and  then  punishes  him  for  it.  We  are  therefore  to  con- 
sider by  what  other  means,  not  incompatible  with  his 
nature  and  attributes,  he  may  be  said,  in  a  certain  sense, 
and  without  impropriety,  to  harden  a  man's  heart. 

There  are  many  ways  by  which  we  may  conceive 
this  efiect  to  be  wrought,  without  running  into  the  ab- 
surdity and  impiety  above  mentioned.  The  heart  may 
be  hardened  by  those  very  respites,  miracles,  and  mer- 
cies, intended  to  soften  it;  for  if  they  do  not  soften  it, 
they  will  harden  it. — God  is  sometimes  said  to  do  that 
which  he  permits  to  be  done  by  others,  in  the  way  of 
judgment  and  punishment;  as  when  his  people  rejected 
his  oAvn  righteous  laws,  he  is  said  to  have  '  given  them' 
the  idolatrous  ones  of  their  Heathen  neighbors,  'statutes 
that  were  not  good.' — The  heart  may  be  hardened  by 
his  withdrawing  that  grace  it  has  long  resisted ;  men 
may  be  given  up  to  a  reprobate  mind ;  as  they  would 
not  see  when  they  possessed  the  faculty  of  sight,  the 
use  of  that  faculty  may  be  taken  from  them,  and  they 
may  be  abandoned  to  blindness.  But  all  this  is  judicial, 
and  supposes  previous  voluntary  wickedness,  which  it 
is  designed  to  punish.  The  case  of  Pharaoh  is  exactly 
that  of  the  Jews.  God  is  said  to  have  "  blinded  their 
eyes,  and  hardened  their  hearts."  But  how  ?  As  it  is 
here  represented  ?  Would  he  do  this  to  his  own  people  ? 
Was  HE  the  cause  of  their  rejecting  their  Messiah  ?  Or 
does  he — can  he  intend  to  say  that  he  was  so?  Let  us 
hear  no  more  of  this,  for  the  sake  of  common  sense  and 
common  honesty,  if  such  things  aft  yet  left  among  us. 

But  it  is  asserted,  that  when  the  objection  is  urged  by 
unbelievers,  '  we  (Christians)  usually  answer,  that  the 
potter  has  power  over  his  clay,  to  fashion  it  as  he  lists;' 
to  which  the  infidels,  in  the  gayety  of  their  hearts,  tri- 
umphantly reply,  that,  '  if  the  clay  in  the  hands  of  the 


294  LETTERS  ON  INEIDELITY.      [LETTER  XIV. 

potter  were  capable  of  happiness  and  misery,  according 
to  the  fashion  impressed  on  it,  the  potter  must  be  malevo- 
lent and  cruel,  who  can  give  the  preference  to  inflicting 
pain  instead  of  happiness.'  The  similitude  of  the  potter 
is  employed  by  St.  Paul ;  but  it  does  not  stand  exactly 
in  his  writings  as  it  does  in  the  pamphlet  before  us.  By 
him  it  is  adduced  in  proof  of  one  single  point  only,  that 
when  men  are  become  sinners,  and  obstinate  sinners, 
God  has  a  right  of  dealing  with  them  according  to  his 
pleasure,  and  as  may  best  answer  the  purposes  of  his 
dispensations,  respecting  others  as  well  as  themselves. 
The  comparison  is  first  used  by  God  himself,  (Jer.  xviii.) 
and  applied  to  the  power  by  him  exercised  of  de- 
stroying or  preserving  an  offending  people,  as  they 
should  either  continue  in  sin,  or  repent  and  amend. 
It  is  applied  precisely  in  the  same  manner  by  St. 
Paul,  (Rorn.  ix.  9,)  to  show,  (as  appears  by  the  verses 
immediately  following,)  that  God  might  without  injus- 
tice deal  with  the  Jews,  as  he  had  before  dealt  with  and 
hardened  Pharaoh ;  and  for  the  same  reason  ;  because 
they  had  refused  to  hearken  to  his  voice,  as  Pharaoh 
had  done.  He  might  reserve  them  for  a  more  signal 
destruction,  which  would  display  his  glory,  and  forward 
the  conversion  of  the  nations ;  while  at  the  same  time 
he  showed  the  riches  of  his  mercy  to  such,  whether 
Jews  or  Gentiles,  as  embraced  the  Gospel ;  whom  he 
owned  as  the  spiritual  seed  of  Abraham,  and  his  peculiar 
people.  Whoever  will  condescend  with  candor  and 
attention  to  peruse  Dr.  Whitby's  annotations  on  Rom. 
ix.  9,  cannot,  I  think,  have  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  left 
on  his  mind,  respecting  either  the  drift  of  St.  Paul's 
reasoning,  or  the  truth  of  it.^ 

'  We  know  it  is  our  duty  to  believe  that  Aaron's  mira- 
cle was  performed  by  th,e  power  of  God  ;  but  we  are  at 
a  loss  to  discover  by  what  power  the  miagicians  per- 
formed theirs.' — (p.  12.)  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  find 
these  gentlemen  solicitous  about  the  performance  of 
duty ;  and  thereforedet  me  address  to  them  a  word  of 
consolation  and  encouragement. — Be  not  swallowed  up 
by  over  much  uneasiness,  as  touching  this  matter.  Rest 

■'  [For  a  more  clear  explanation  of  this  much  misunderstood  passagp, 
.jce  standard  Works,  Vol.  II.  p.  33—39.] 


LETTER  XIV.]       LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  295 

satisfied  that  whatever  may  be  determined  concerning 
the  wonders  wrought  by  the  magicians — whether  they 
are  supposed  to  have  been  wrought  in  reality,  or  in 
appearance  only ;  by  legerdemain  or  the  power  of  evil 
spirits,  through  the  permission  of  God,  willing  to  make 
his  power  known  in  this  grand  contest — either  way,  the 
argument  drawn  from  miracles,. in  support  of  revelation, 
will  remain  in  its  full  strength.  The  superiority  of  the 
God  of  Israel  was  manifested,  and  the  contest  yielded 
by  the  adversaries,  who  could  not  protect  themselves  or 
their  friends  from  the  maladies  and  plagues  inflicted  by 
Omnipotence.  Whatever  the  magicians  did,  or  however 
they  did  it,  it  appeared  evidently  they  might  as  well  have 
done  nothing.  Mankind  can  never  be  ensnared  by  pre- 
tences of  this  sort,  when  they  see  such  pretences  con- 
trolled and  overruled  by  a  superior  power.  You  are 
men  of  too  much  sense,  I  am  sure,  to  be  found  on  the 
side  of  Jannes  or  Jambres,  or  to  take  a  retainer  from 
Simon  Magus. 

'  Where  did  the  magicians  find  water  to  practise  their 
art  upon,  since  Aaron  had  already  turned  it  all  into 
blood  V — (p.  13.)  Not  all,  gentlemen,  by  your  leave. 
The  Egyptians,  not  being  able  to  drink  of  the  water  of 
the  river,  "digged  round  about  it  (as  you  are  told,')  for 
water  to  drink."  And  depend  upon  it  they  found  some,  or 
it  had  been  very  bad  with  them  indeed.  But  the  truth  is, 
that  nothing  is  more  common  among  writers,  both  sacred 
and  profane,  than  the  use  of  the  word  "  all,""  not  in  an 
absolute  but  a  relative  or  comparative  sense,  as  implying 
many,  some  of  all  sorts,  &c.  "!3y  adverting  to  this  sim- 
ple and  obvious  consideration,  you  might  have  spared 
yourselves  the  trouble  of  laboring  in  vain  through  three 
or  four  pages,  to  be  witty  on  the  subject  of  Pharaoh's 
cattle  being  killed  more  than  once,  and  such  like  plea- 
sant conceits.  These  are  poor  jnddling  doings ;  but 
we  shall  have  some  slashing  by  and  by,  to  make 
amends. 

*  Some  weak  believers  ar-e  in  doubt,  whether  so  mean,' 
so  ungenerous,  and  so  dishonest  an  act,  as  borrowing  the 
jewels  of  the  Egyptians,  without  any  intention  of  re- 
turning them,  did  not  rather  originate  in  that  disposition 


Exod.  vii.  24. 
Vol.  V.--26 


296  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.     [LETTER  XIV. 

which  characterizes  the  Jews  to  this  day,  than  in  the 
command  of  the  just  God,  who  certainly  could  need  no 
such  tricks  to  accomplish  his  intentions.' — (p.  15.)  Much 
reason  have  we  to  wish  that  some  among  the  unbe- 
lievers would  take  the  pains  to  acquire  a  mtJderate  stock 
of  Hebrew,  that  so  he  '  might  have  to  give,'  upon  such 
occasions  as  these,  *  to  him  that  needeth.'     For  that  the 
Israelites,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  English  word,  bor- 
rowed these  jewels,  or  gave  the  Egyptians  reason  to 
expect  a  return  of  them,  does  by  no  means  appear  from 
the  original,  to  which  a  man,  when  he  is  disposed  to 
play  the  critic  upon  an  author,  should  always  have  re- 
course, if  he  be  solicitous  to  deserve  the  character  of 
an  honest  man  and  a  scholar.  The  general  signification 
of  the  word  ^  is  to  ask,  to  require,  to  demand.     In  the 
three  texts^  relative  to  this  transaction,  the  LXX,™  and  in 
the  two  former,  the  Vulgate,"  render  it  by  a  term  of  simi- 
lar import.    It  is  said,  "  the  Israelites  spoiled  the  Egyp- 
tians :"  they  took  these  jewels,  vessels,  &c. ;  and  the 
Egyptians  gave  them,  as  the  spoil  of  a  conquered  enemy, 
glad  to  escape  with  life,  and  to  dismiss  a  much  injured 
people  ;  they  took  these  spoils,  as  wages  due,  and  with- 
holden,  for  immense  labor  undergone  ;  as  a  recompense 
for  long  and  cruel  oppression  ;  some  of  them,  probably, 
as  insignia  of  the  vanquished  Egyptian  deities,  to  be 
afterwards  employed  in  the  service  of  the  true  God, 
whom  Egypt  as  well  as  Israel,  ought  to  have  acknow- 
ledged and  adored :  who,  as  the  great  Lord  and  Pro- 
prietor of  all  things  in  ^heaven  and  earth,  taketh  from 
one  and  giveth  to  another,  according  to  his  good  plea- 
sure, founded  evermore  in  wisdom,  truth,  and  righteous- 
ness ;  who  at  the  beginning  foretold  °  that  the  Egyptians 
should  be  spoiled,  and  when  the  time  came  directed  his 
people  to  spoil  them.     "  God  gave  them  favor :"  the  act 
was  his,  and  the  Israelites  were  instruments  only  in  his 
hands.     If  men  are  pleased  to  concern  themselves  at  all 
with  the  history,  they  must  take  the  whole  as  it  stands, 
neither  blaming  those  on  whom  no  blame  can  properly 
fall,  nor  accusing  their  Maker  of  iniquity,  who  can  be 
guilty  of  none,  but  at  a  future  day,  to  the  confusion  of 


k  *7Njy.        1  Exod.  iii.  22.  xi.  2.  xii.  35.        "^  Atnw.        "  Postulo. 
'  Exod.  iii.  22. 


LETTER  XV.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  297 

all  his  blasphemers,  will  be  fully  'justified  in  his  saying, 
and  clear  when  he  is  judged.' 

One  cannot  but  bless  one's  self  to  see  how  ready  these 
writers  are,  at  every  turn,  to  give  sentence  against  the 
people  of  Goi),  in  favor  of  their  enemies ;  as  if  they 
emulated  the  same  set  of  worthies  in  the  fifth  century, 
called  Cainites;  who,  having  reprobated  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  his  prophets  and  apostles,  are  said  to  have 
adopted  into  the  catalogue  of  their  saints,  and  paid  espe- 
cial honors  to  the  memories  of  Cain,  Korah,  Dathan, 
Esau,  the  Sodomites,  and  Judas  Iscariot. 

As  to  their  intimation,  at  page  17,  that  because  Egypt 
was  a  country  intersected  by  canals,  there  never  were 
any  horses  or  chariots  in  it,  they  ought  for  this  to  take 
their  part  in  the  next  general  flogging,  at  Westminster 
School.  During  the  operation,  perhaps,  the  captain  of 
the  school  will  be  enjoined  by  the  master  to  read  aloud 
the  following  short  passage  from  Rollins'  Ancient 
History. 

*  Foot,  horse,  and  chariot-races  were  performed  in 
Egypt  with  wonderful  agility ;  and  the  world  could  not 
show  better  horsemen  than  the  Egyptians.'p 

In  the  next  letter  we  shall  proceed  to  the  consideration 
of  a  topic  entirely  new — Balaam's  ass. 


LETTER  XV. 

The  first  difficulty  here  is,  '  why  God  should  be  an- 
gry with  Balaam,  for  going,  when  he  had  given  him 
leave  to  go  V 

To  be  sure,  all  circumstances  continuing  the  same, 
it  would  be  strange, — it  would  be  passing  strange. 
But  if  circumstances  varied,  the  Divine  conduct  might 
vary  too.  "  Go,"  says  God,  but — observe — "the  word 
which  I  shall  say  unto  thee,  that  shalt  thou  do.'"^  Balaam 
seems  to  have  set  out  with  a  resolution  to  obey ;  for 
like  a  man,  and  like  an  honest  man,  he  had  boldly  and 
nobly  said,  "If  Balak  would  give  me  his  house  full  of 
silver  and  gold,  I  cannot  go  beyond  the  word  of  the 

p  Vol.  I.  p.  48.        1  Numb.  xxii.  20. 


298  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  XY* 

Lord  my  God  to  do  less  or  more."'     However,  it  is? 
possible,  that  upon  the  road,  either  by  the  persuasive 
arguments  of  the  princes  of  Moab  who  accompanied 
him,  or  by  the  wicked  suggestions  of  his  own  deceitful 
heart,  an  alteration  had  taken  place  in  his  mind,  and 
interest  had  gained  the  ascendency  over  duty.  I  say,  this 
is  possible ;  considering  his  character  it  is  probable  : 
but  a  passage  in  the  history  itself  seems  to  make  it 
certain.     "I  went  out  to  withstand  thee,  because  thy 
way  is  perverse  before  me."*      But  what  way  ?      Not 
merely  his  journey,  for  he  had  leave  to  take  it,  condi- 
tionally.      Way  must  necessarily  be  understood  in  its 
moral  acceptation.     Something  was  wrong  in  the  course 
of  his  thoughts,  his  imagination  ;  in  his  design  and  in- 
tention,  now  changed  from  what  they  were  at  setting 
out.     "  The  foolishness  (or  wickedness)  of  man  per- 
VERTETH  his  WAY."'     Therefore  God  was  angry,  not, 
as  it  is  in  our  translation,  "because  he  went;""  but 
"as  he  was  going — while  he  was  on  the  road."^    Upon 
Balaam's  humbling  himself,  and  offering  to  return,  leave 
of  proceeding  is  again  granted,  but  with  a  significant 
repetition  of  the  original  proviso — "  Only  the  word  that 
I  shall  speak  unto  thee,  that  shalt  thou  speak."y      *Go 
on;  but  remember,   to   me  your  heart  is  open,  your 
desires  are  known.     If  you  betray  your  trust,  the  drawn 
sword  of  the  angel  waits  to  punish  your  duplicity  as  it 
ought  to  be  punished.' — This  appears  to  be  a  fair  and 
reasonable  solution  of  the  first  difficulty. 

As  to  the  second,  it  is  observed,  p.  17,  that '  the  ass  ex- 
hibited a  specimen  of  penetration  and  prudence,  of  which 
the  asses  of  modern  times  seem  to  be  divested.' — This  ob- 
servation  brings,  to  my  mind  one  made  upon  the  subject 
some  years  ago  by  that  father  of  the  faithless,  Dr.  Tindal. 
"What  a  number  of  ideas  must  Balaam's  ass  have  (says 
he)  to  be  able  to  reason  with  her  master,  when  she  saw 
and  knew  an  angel?" — Will  these  gentlemen  do  me  the 
favor  to  accept  Dr.  Waterland's  answer? — "Now, 
as  to  the  number  of  ideas  which  the  ass  must  have  ;  I 
believe  she  had  as  many  as  asses  commonly  have  :  and 
he  may  please  to  count  them  at  his  leisure  for  his  own 


'  Numb.  xxii.  18.      «  Ver.  3-2.      '  Prov.  xix.  3.      "  Numb,  xxii^ 
n"7in  >3.        y  Ver.  35. 


LETTER  XV.]       LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  899 

amusement." '  If  they  have  ever  an  anatomist  among  them, 
I  dare  say  he  could  very  easily  demonstrate,  from  the 
configuration  of  its  organs,  the  impossibility  of  the  crea- 
ture's ever  speaking  at  all.  And  his  demonstration  would 
just  be  as  much  to  the  purpose  as  Tindal's  question.  The 
plain  truth  is  this — If  it  pleased  God  to  take  this  par- 
ticular method  of  "  rebuking  the  prophet's  madness,"* 
the  severest  philosophy  cannot  question  his  power  to 
produce  sounds  articulate  and  significant,  either  with 
the  organs  of  any  animal,  or  without  them.  A  voice 
proceeding  from  a  dumb  creature  was  made  upon  this 
occasion,  to  teach  a  lesson  similar  to  that  deduced,  upon 
another,  from  the  example  of  the  same  creature — "The 
ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib ; 
but  (man)  d©th  not  know,  (a  prophet)  doth  not  con- 
sider."'^ If  it  be  objected,  that  the  occasion  was  not 
worthy;  that  it  was  not  dignus  vindice  nodus;  we  shall 
certainly  take  the  liberty  to  think  that  God  Almighty 
was  a  much  better  judge  of  that  matter  than  the  infidels 
can  possibly  be,  even  were  they  ten  times  wiser  than 
they  are.  The  whole  transaction,  in  which  Balaam 
bore  so  conspicuous  a  part,  is  of  very  great  moment, 
and  the  history  which  relates  it,  full  of  deep  instruction, 
as  well  as  abounding  in  the  beautiful  and  sublime. <= 

A  predecessor  of  these  gentlemen,  Mr.  Chubb,  I  re- 
member, called  the  Supreme  Being  to  a  very  severe 
account  for  his  conduct  respecting  the  Canaanites ;  and 
they  seem  disposed  to  do  the  same,  in  a  bitter,  sarcas- 
tical,  canting  section,  (p.  19,  &c.)  the  drift  of  which 
is  to  compare  the  Israelites  in  Canaan  to  the  Spaniards 
in  Mexico,  and  represent  the  former  as  the  more  detest- 
able people  of  the  two.  The  objection  will  perhaps  be 
obviated,  and  its  futility  evinced,  by  proposing  the  few 
following  queries. 

1.  Has  not  the  Almighty  a  sovereign  right  over  the 
lives  and  fortunes  of  his  creatures  1 

2.  May  not  the  iniquity  of  nations  become  such,  as 
to  justify  him  in  destroying  these  nations  ? 


*  Scripture  Vindicated,  I.  42.       '  2  Peter  ii.  16.       b  See  Isa.  i.  3. 
-   = '  Nihil  habet  Poesis  Hebrsea  in  ullo  genere  limatius  aut  exquisitius,' 
LowTH  de  Sacra  Poesi  Heb,    Prael.  XX,  ad  fin. 
26* 


300  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [lETTER  XV, 

3.  Is  he  not  free  to  choose  the  instruments  by  which 
he  will  effect  such  destruction  ? 

4.  Is  there  more  injustice  or  cruelty  in  his  effecting  it 
by  the  sword,  than  by  famine,  pestilence,  whirlwind,  de- 
luge, or  earthquake  ? 

5.  When  these  latter  means  are  employed,  do  not 
women,  and  children,  and  cattle,  perish  with  the  men  ? 

6.  Does  not  God  take  away  thousands  of  children 
every  day,  and  perhaps  half  the  species,  under  the  age 
of  ten  years  ? 

7.  Does  not  the  circumstance  of  a  divine  commission 
entirely  alter  the  state  of  the  case,  and  distinguish  the 
Israelites  from  the  Spaniards,  as  much  as  a  warrant 
from  the  magistrate  distinguishes  the  executioner  from 
the  murderer  ? 

8.  May  not  men  be  assured  of  God's  having  given 
them  such  a  commission  ? 

9.  Were  not  the  Israelites  thus  assured  ;  and  is  there 
not  at  this  day  incontestible  evidence  upon  record,  that 
they  were  so  ? 

This  is  a  fair  and  regular  distribution  of  the  subject 
into  its  several  parts.  Whenever  the  infidels  shall  find 
themselves  in  a  humor  to  discuss  all,  or  any  of  them, 
we  must  consider  what  they  may  offer  further  upon 
this  topic. 

In  p.  18,  they  cite  the  following  passage  from  Judges 
i.  19.  "  The  Lord  was  with  Judah,  and  he  drove  out 
the  inhabitants  of  the  mountain  :  but  could  not  drive 
out  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley,  because  they  had  cha- 
riots of  iron."  They  subjoin — '  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive how  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  who  had  so 
often  changed  the  order,  and  suspended  the  established 
laws  of  nature,  in  favor  of  his  people,  could  not  suc- 
ceed against  the  inhabitants  of  a  valley,  because  they 
had  chariots  of  iron  !' 

At  the  end  of  this  sentence  is  placed  a  single  note  of 
admiration.  There  ought  to  have  been  at  least  half  a 
dozen  ;  for  never  was  any  thing  more  truly  wonderful ! 
The  '  difficulty  of  conceiving  it'  is  very  great  indeed  ! 
so  great,  that  one  should  have  thought',  for  very  pity's 
sake,  our  adversaries  would  have  looked  about  them  a 
little,  to  see  whether  they  undestood  the  text,  and 
whether  there  were  no  possible  way  of  bringing  us  off. 


LET-fER  XV.]        LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  301 

As  they  have  not  been  kind  enough  to  do  it  for  us,  we 
must  e'en  try  what  we  can  do  for  ourselves. 

We  apprehend,  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  when  it 
is  said,  "  he  drove  out  the  inhabitants  of  the  mountain, 
but  could  not  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley;" 
the  antecedent  is  Judah,  not  Jehovah  ;  because  Jehovah 
had  often  displayed  much  more  eminent  instances  of 
his  power ;  and  he  that  effected  the  greater,  could  cer- 
tainly have  effected  the  less.  In  the  second  place, 
though  it  pleased  God  to  give  success  to  Judah  in  one 
instance,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow,  that  therefore 
he  should  give  it  in  all.  .  So  that  there  is  no  more  ab- 
surdity in  the  passage,  than  there  would  be  in  the 
following  speech,  if  such  had  been  addressed  to  the 
Sovereign  by  one  of  his  commanders  returned  from 
America — '  By  the  blessing  of  God  upon  your  Majesty's 
arms,  we  overcame  General  Greene  in  the  field ;  but 
we  could  not  attack  General  Washington,  because  he 
was  too  strongly  intrenched  in  his  camp.'  There  is  no 
reason,  therefore,  for  supposing  that  '  the  Jews  consi- 
dered the  God  of  Israel,  their  protector,  as  a  local 
divinity;  who  was  in  some  instances  more,  and  in 
others  less  powerful,  than  the  gods  of  their  enemies.'*^ 

Nor  is  it  altogether  '  thus'  that  '  David  in  many 
places  compares  the  Lord  with  other  gods  :'  since  he 
compares  him  with  them,  only  to  set  him  above  them ; 
as  sufficiently  appears  by  the  passage  quoted — "  The 
Lord  is  a  great  God,  and  a  great  king  above  all  gods.^^^ 
In  the  Heathen  world  there  were  "  gods  many,  and 
lords  many."  An  Israelite  acknowledged  one  only 
God,  the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  all  the 
supposed  deities  therein.  "  All  the  gods  of  the  Hea- 
then," so  styled  by  them,  "  are  but  idols  ;  but  it  is  the 
Lord  that  made  the  heavens." 

Such,  as  an  Israelite,  must  have  been  the  sentiments 
of  Jephthah,  as  well  as  David  ;  and  therefore  the  cita- 
tion from  his  address  to  the  king  of  the  Ammonites 
will  avail  nothing  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  adduced. 
— "  Wilt  thou  not  possess  that,  which  Chemosh  thy  god 
giveth  thee  to  possess  ?  So  whomsoever  the  Lord  our 
God  shall  drive  out  from  before  us,  them  will  we  pos« 


d  Page  19.  •  lb. 


302  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  XV. 

sess."^  It  cannot  seriously  be  thought,  that  Jephthah, 
a  judge  of  Israel,  intended  to  acknowledge  the  real 
divinity  of  the  Ammonitish  idol,  Chemosh.  No :  the 
argument  is  evidently  of  the  kind  which  logicians  style 
argumcntum  ad  hominenit  an  argument  formed  upon 
the  principles  of  the  adversaries,  and  therefore  conclii- 
sive  to  them. — 'You  deem  yourselves  entitled  to  any 
possession  acquired,  as  you  imagine,  by  the  assistance 
of  him  whom  you  call  your  god,  and  cannot  reasonably  ■ 
expect  us  to  yield  that,  which  we  know  the  Lord  our 
God  has  awarded  to  us.'  Jephthah,  in  a  negociation 
with  the  Ammonites,  had  no  occasion  to  discuss  the 
subject  of  theiii  idolatry,  or  tell  them  what  he  thought 
of  Chemosh  ;  but  states  the  matter  according  to  their 
own  ideas,  supposing  them,  for  a  moment,  to  be  true, 
though  he  believed  them  to  be  false,  as  is  done  every 
day. 

Voltaire  has  amused  himself  much  with  this  text, 
and  between  one  and  another  of  his  manifold  publica- 
tions, kept  it  up,  like  a  shuttle-cock.  He  struggles 
hard  for  it — but  in  vain.  "  The  words  of  Scripture,'- 
says  he,  "  are  not,  Thou  thinkest  thou  hast  a  right  to 
possess^  d^c,  but  expressly.  Thou  hast  a  right  to  pos- 
sess, i^c.i  for  that  is  the  true  interpretation  of  the  Hebrew 
words,  otho  thirasch.^^°  Aye,  my  little  man,  so  it. is, 
according  to  the  Vulgate, — "  Tibi  jure  debentur."  But 
any  modern  school-boy  would  have  informed  thee 
better,  and  told  thee,  that  the  words,  in  very  deed,- 
denote  neither  more  nor  less  than,  "  Thou  wilt  possess 
it." — Are  we  to  give  up  our  Bible,  and  pin  our  faith 
upon  the  sleeve  of  such  a  man  as  this  ? 

After  Balaam's  Ass,  the  Canaanites,  and  Chemosh, 
one  naturally  expects — and  lo,  she  is  at  hand — the 

WITCH  OF  ENDOR. 

It  was  not  unusual  among  us  here  in  England  some 
years  ago,  for  an  old  woman,  if  she  had  the  misfortune 
to  live  at  the  corner  of  a  common,  to  be  suspected  of 
witchcraft,  and  tossed  into  a  horse  pond,  to  see  whether 
she  would  sink  or  swim.  To  put  an  end  to  such  ridi- 
culous barbarities,  as  well  as  some  others  of  a  more 
serious   and   solemn   nature,    the   legislature   of  Great 

f  Judges  xi.  21.        <  it^^yp^  i-|N  Treatise  on  Toleration,  Chap.  xii. 


LETTER  XV.]       LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  303 

Britain  very  wisely  ordained,  by  an  Act  of  9  G.  II.  ch. 
5.  that  no  person  should  in  future  be  vexed,  or  prose- 
cuted, under  that  notion ;  and  that  whoever  pretended 
to  any  thing  of  the  kind,  should,  on  conviction,  be  ad- 
judged to  the  pillory.  These  gentlemen  have  their 
fears,  upon  this  occasion,  for  the  authority  of  the  Bible. 
I  cannot  say,  for  my  part,  that  I  feel  any  such  appre- 
hensions. '  The  witch  of  Endor,  and  the  Jewish  Law, 
both  prove  by  divine  argument  (whatever  that  may  be) 
the  existence  of  such  professors,  though  like  miracles, 
they  have  now  ceased  to  appear.' — (p.  25.)  But  the 
nonexistence  of  miracles  at  present  is  no  proof  that 
they  never  existed  ;  for  they  most  certainly  once  did 
exist,  if  evidence  be  evidence.  The  argument  therefore 
is  full  in  their  own  teeth  ;  and  there  might  be  witches,  as 
well  as  possessed  persons,  formerly,  though  there  may 
be  none  now.  The  Bible  may  be  true,  and  (blessed  be 
God)  the  parliament  not  infidel.  They  '  deplore  the 
infidelity  of  that  parliament.'  Bold  words  these,  indeed  ! 
— I  would  not  have  said  such  things  of  any  parliament, 
for  the  world. — They  are  apprehensive  of  persecution 
— Let  them  take  more  care,  another  time ! 

It  appears  by  the  Jewish  Law,  that  there  were  then 
men  and  women,  who  in  the  language  of  our  transla- 
tion, are  styled  "diviners,  observers  of  times,  enchant- 
ers, witches,  charmers,  consulters  with  familiar  spirits, 
wizards,  and  necromancers."^  These  practices,  are 
said  to  be  "  the  abominations  of  the  heathen  ;"'  and  we 
know  they  were  continued,  lower  down,  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  whose  philosophers  were  some-- 
times  puzzled  how  to  determine  concerning  them. 
With  the  idolatry  of  their  neighbors,  the  Israelites, 
frequently  adopted  these  its  appendages.  That  there 
was  in  them  much  of  juggling  and  imposture,  may  be 
true  ;  but  that  all  was  so,  is  more  than  many  wise  and 
learned  men  have  thought  proper,  upon  a  due  consider- 
ation of  the  matter,  to  assert ;  because,  that  there  are 
no  evil  spirits,  or  that  mankind  never  had  any  commu- 
nication with  them,  are  negatives  not  easily  proved. 

Respecting  the  transaction  at  Endor,  the  case,  in  few 
words,  stands  thus.     Convinced  by  proper  evidence  of 


h  Deut,  xviii.  10.  i  Verse  9.  12. 


304  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.       [LETTER  XV. 

the  authority  of  the  book  in  which  it  is  related,  we  of 
course  believe  (having  as  we  judge,  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve) that  the  several  incidents  happened,  as  they  are 
said  to  have  happened.  By  what  power  or  agency  they 
were  brought  about,  or  how  the  business  was  conducted, 
is  another  question,  which  we  must  endeavor  to  solve, 
if  we  can  do  it ;  if  not,  it  must  remain  as  it  is,  being 
confessedly  to  us,  at  this  distance,  of  an  obscure  and 
difficult  nature. 

That  God  should  permit  evil  spirits,  employed  by  a 
wretched  woman,  to  summon,  at  pleasure,  his  departed 
servants  from  the  other  world,  is  not  to  be  imagined. 
It  remains  therefore,  either  that  the  whole  affair  of 
Samuel's  appearance  was  a  contrivance  ;  or  that,  by  the 
interposition  of  God,  there  was  a  real  appearance, 
which  the  enchantress  did  not  expect,  nor  could  have 
effected.  The  surprise  and  alarm  occasioned  in  her, 
seem  to  point  us  this  way,  and  there  are  two  instances 
recorded  in  Scripture  of  a  proceeding  somewhat  similar. 
When  king  Balak  had  recourse  to  sorceries  and  divina- 
tions, hoping  to  procure  some  relief,  or  fair  promises  at 
least  from  them,  God  himself  interposed,  and  so  over- 
ruled Balaam  and  all  his  divinations,  that  Balak  could 
obtain  no  favorable  answer  from  them,  but  quite  the 
reverse. k  In  like  manner  King  Ahaziah  had  sent  to 
consult  Baalzebub,  the  demon  of  Ekron,  to  know  whe- 
ther he  should  recover  of  the  sickness  he  then  lay 
under,  hoping,  no  doubt,  to  obtain  a  favorable  answer 
there,  as  probably  he  might  have  done  ;  God  himself 
took  care  to  anticipate  the  answer  by  Elijah  the  pro- 
phet, who  assured  the  messengers,  meeting  them  by  the 
way,  that  their  master  Ahaziah  should  not  recover,  but 
should  surely  dieJ  Thus,  probably.  Was  it  in  the  case 
of  Saul :  when  he  hoped  for  a  kind  answer  from  Samuel, 
and  it  is  likely  would  have  had  a  very  favorable  oiie 
from  some  pretended  Samuel,  God  was  pleased  to  dis- 
appoint both  the  sorceress  and  him,  by  sending  the 
true  Samuel,  with  a  true  and  faithful  message,  quite 
contrary  to  what  the  v/oman  and  Saul  had  expected : 
which  so  confounded  and  disordered  him,  that  he  in- 
stantly fell  into  a  swoon,  and  could  no  longer  bear  up 

"  Numb,  xxiii.        i  2  Kings  i. 


LETTER  XVI.]  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  305 

against  the  bitter  agonies  of  his  mind.  The  sense  of 
the  Jewish  Church,  about  three  hundred  ye^.rs  before 
Christ,  is  given  by  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Ecclesi- 
asticus,  when,  speaking  of  Samuel,  he  says  thus — 
*'  After  his  death  he  prophesied,  and  showed  the  king 
his  end,  and  lifted  up  his  voice  from  the  earth  in  pro- 
phecy, to  blot  out  the  wickedness  of  the  people."™  This 
author  plainly  enough  supposed,  that  it  was  Samuel 
himself  who  appeared  in  person,  and  prophesied  to 
King  Saul, 


LETTER  XVI. 

We  now  come  to  some  observations  on  the  character 
and  conduct  of  David.  And  here,  the  extracts  are  more 
scanty,  than  one  should  have  expected,  from  Messrs. 
Bayle,  Morgan,  and  Co.,  or  rather  from  the  last  retailer 
of  this  sort  of  ware,  the  Historian  of  the  Man  after  God's 
own  Heart.'' 

David  is  scoffed  at  for  his  cruelty  towards  the  Am- 
monites, shown  by  "putting  them  under  saws,  and  under 
harrows  of  iron,"°  &lc. — (p.  21.)  Whatever  the  words 
in  the  original  may  signify,  it  seems  but  reasonable  to 
conclude,  that  if  David  inflicted  on  these  people  punish- 
ments extrordinarily  severe,  there  must  have  been  some 
extraordinary  cause.  We  read  in  the  book  of  Judges, 
that  the  men  of  Judah,  "  pursued  after  Adonibezek, 
and  cut  off  his  thumbs  and  his  great  toes."  Had  no- 
thing more  been  related,  this  would  have  appeared  a 
strange  instance  of  wanton  barbarity.  But  what  says 
the  suffering  prince  himself? — "Threescore  and  ten 
kings  having  their  thumbs  and  great  toes  cut  off,  gath- 
ered their  meat  under  my  table;  as  I  have  done,  so  God 
hath  requited  me."p  The  cruelties  practised  by  the 
Ammonites  upon  others  might  be  returned,  by  the  just 
judgment  of  heaven,  upon  themselves.     There  is  no 

"»  Ecclus,  xlvi,  20. 

n  [One  of  the  blasphemous  publications  which  gave  occasion  to 
Bishop  Horne's  Letters,  bore  the  title  The  History  of  the  Man  after 
GocPs  own  Heart.  There  have  been  men  foolish  and  wicked  enough 
to  reprint  and  circulate  this  trash  in  America  but  a  few  months  since.] 

°  2  Saia.  xii.  29.        p  Judges  i.  6,  7. 


306  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.      [LETTER  XVI. 

ground  for  supposing  that  David  treated  them  worse 
than  they  would  have  treated  the  Hebrews,  or  than 
prisoners  of  war  were  treated  in  those  times  ;  and  Dr. 
Chandler,  it  is  apprehended,  has  given  very  good 
reasons  why  the  passage  should  be  rendered  in  the 
manner  following — "He  brought  forth  the  inhabitants, 
and  put  them  to  the  saw,  and  to  iron  mines,  and  iron 
axes,  and  transported  them  to  the  brick  kiln,"  or  rather 
"  to  the  brick  frame,  and  hod,  to  make  and  carry  bricks ;" 
that  is,  he  reduced  them  to  slavery,  and  put  them  to  the 
most  servile  employments.  See  Chandler's  Life  of 
Davids  Vol.  H.  p.  227,  a  book  which  should  be  carefully 
perused  by  those  who  are  disposed  to  favor  us  with  any 
fresh  disquisitions  on  the  subject  of  it.  But  we  must 
proceed  to  David's  sentence  on  the  Amalekite. 

The  two  accounts  of  the  manner  of  Saul's  death, 
one  given  in  the  course  of  the  history,  at' the  close  of 
the  first  book  of  Samuel,  the  other  by  the  Amalekite, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  second,  are  so  different,  that 
'one  of  them'  the  infidels  say,  'must  be  false.' — (p.  26.) 
Very  well;  suppose  it  so  to  be,  and  what  then?  Why 
then,  they  put  the  following  resolution  of  the  difficulty 
into  the  mouth  of  their  Tom  Fool  of  a  Christian,  as 
they  call  him.  '  To  this  we  can  only  answer,  as  it  he- 
comes  the  faithful  in  all  such  cases  of  seeming  difficulty; 
namely,  that  they  were  both  written  by  the  pen  of  in- 
spiration, consequently  must  both  be  true,  however 
contradictory  or  absurd  they  may  seem  to  human 
reason.' — Well  said,  Tom  ! — But  let  me  ask  these  gen- 
tlemen, what  mortal,  beside  themselves,  Tom's  elder 
brethren,  ever  imagined  the  Amalekite  to  have  been 
inspired,  when  he  told  his  story  to  David  ? — An  idle, 
pickthank  fellow,  who  stripped  Saul  of  his  diadem  and 
bracelets,  and  ran  away  M'ith  them  full  speed  to  David, 
to  let  him  know  that  all  was  safe,  his  old  enemy  was 
fallen,  and  he  had  put  him  out  of  his  pain !  David  saw 
through  the  character  of  this  man,  and  from  his  for.- 
ward  officiousness  in  the  affair,  probably  concluded,  he 
had  taken  some  undue  advantage  of  Saul  in  his  wounded 
state,  and  slain  him,  on  purpose  that  he  might  find 
favor  with  his  successor  in  the  kingdom,  by  bringing 
him  all  this  good  news.  "As  the  Lord  liveth,  who  hath 
redeemed  my  soul  out  of  all  adversity  (says  he  upon 


LETTER  XVII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  301^ 

another  occasion)  when  one  told  me,  saying,  Behold 
Saul  is  dead,  [thinking  to  have  brought  good  tidings,) 
I  took  hold  of  him  and  slew  him,  in  Ziklag,  who  thought 
that  I  would  have  given  him  a  reward  for  his  tidings. '"^-^ 
But  whether  David  suspectr  '^  it,  or  not,  as  the  narrative 
of  Saul's  death  given  in  the  .^ourse  of  the  history  is 
true,  the  story  told  by  the  Ama^akite  is  certainly  false 
in  some  particulars,  which  are  i'lconsistent  with  that 
narrative.  Nay,  it  is  not  probable,  if  indeed  it  be  pos- 
sible, that  the  main  circumstance  of  all  should  have 
been  true. — Saul  desires  his  armor  bearer  to  kill  him, 
who  refuses  ;  he  falls  upon  his  sword  ;  and  the  ser- 
vant, seeing  his  master  dead,  does  the  same.  Now 
where  is  the  interval,  or  opening,  for  the  scene 
between  Saul  and  the  Amalekite  to  take  place  ?  Or 
would  the  armor  bearer,  who  refused  to  kill  Saul, 
stand  by  and  suffer  an  Amalekite  to  kill  him? — But 
though  David  judged  this  man  unworthy  to  become  his 
friend,  he  may  make  a  very  good  figure  in  the  unbe- 
liever's catalogue  of  saints,  and  I  would  recommend 
him  to  occupy  a  niche  in  that  temple. — Let  us,  how- 
ever, foramoment,  suppose,  that  David  had  judged  other- 
wise ;  that  he  had  rewarded  him  handsomely,  and  pro- 
moted him  to  honor.  What  would  have  been  said, 
then?  Why,  that  poor  Saul  had  escaped  the  sword  of 
the  Philistines,  but,  'this  ruffian,'  (such  is  the  courtly 
appellation  bestowed  upon  David)""  had  employed  an 
assassin  to  despatch  him,  during  the  hurry  and  confusion 
of  the  retreat !  Oh,  it  had  been  a  delicious  morsel,  ex- 
actly seasoned  to  the  palate  of  infidelity  ! 

The  infidels  are  much  disconcerted,  it  seems,  about 
the  hook  of  Jasher  :  (p.  27:)  it  was  extant  previous  to 
the  writing  the  book  of  Joshua,  and  was  not  finished 
till  after  the  accession  of  David  to  the  throne  of  Israel ; 
so  that,  as  they  apprehend,  either  the  author  of  Jasher 
must  have  lived  upwards  of  four  hundred  years,  or  the 
book  of  Joshua  was  not  written  till  after  the  time  of 
David. — Here  again  a  little  Hebrew  would  have  done 
us  no  harm.  It  does  not  appear  that  Jasher  was  the 
name  of  an  individual,  or  that  the  book  so  styled  was  all 
written  in  the  same  age,  by  the  same  man.     The  tranF- 

«  2  Sara.  iv.  9,  10.        '  Page  25. 
Vol.  v.— 27 


308  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [lETTER  XVIf, 

actions  of  the  times  were  regularly  entered  in  a  public 
register,  by  a  person  denominated  the  Recorder^  or 
Historiographer,  a  staled  officer  to  the  Jewish  kings.* 
And  "?Ae  book  of  Jasher  was  the  standard,  authentic 
book,  in  which  they  were  entered  by  authority,  and 
from  which  extracts  w(!re  made,  as  occasion  required. '^ 
Some  difficulties  are  started  (p.  29)  relative  to  the 
history  of  David  numbering  the  people.  In  our  trans- 
lation we  read,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  that  'Hhe  Lord  moved 
David  to  number  Israel ;""  and  1  Chron.  xxi.  that 
^^  Satan  moved  him  to  doit." — Nothing  is  more  com- 
mon with  the  sacred  writers,  than  to  represent  God  as 
doing  that  which,  in  the  course  of  his  providence,  and 
for  the  purposes  of  either  mercy  or  judgment,  he  per- 
mits to  be  done  by  the  instrumentality  of  second 
causes,  animate  or  inanimate,  corporeal  or  spiritual.  In 
the  case  of  Ahab,  1  Kings  xxii.,  he  is  represented 
after  the  manner  of  men,  and  in  condescension  to  our 
capacities,  as  a  king  keeping  his  court,  with  spirits  of 
all  kinds  in  wailing  before  him,  prepared  to  execute  his 
will  upon  earth.  One  of  these  spirits  is  commissioned 
to  influence  the  false  prophets,  and  they  persuade  Ahab^ 
who  will  not  listen  to  the  true  prophet  of  God.  Taking- 
the  matter,  therefore,  as  it  stands  in  our  Enolish  trans- 
lation, the  import  of  both  passages  laid  together,  accord- 
ing to  a  fair  explanation,  would  evidently  be,  that  for 
good  and  sufficient  reasons,  known  to  himself,  God  per- 
mitted Satan  to  tempt,  and  David  to  yield  lo  the  tempta- 
tion, in  this  instance.  But  if  we  consult  the  original, 
we  shall  find  there  is  no  necessity  to  suppose  that  David 
was  excited  either  by  God,  or  by  Satan.  The  word 
Satan,  though  often  denoting  that  person  who  is  em- 
phatically styled  THE  Adversary,  signifies  only,  in  gene- 

'  n^DTD.  See  Samuel  viii.  16.  1  Kings  iv.  8.  2  Kings  xviii.  18. 
2  Chiun.  xxxiv.  8 

*  Lk  Ci.krc  seems  to  have  ima<iin^d  that  this  record  was  kept  in 
verse — "  Crediilerim  Librum  Recti  fuise  collectionem  hymnorum  aut 
carminum  de  rebus  gestis  HebrfEorum,  f.)rte  non  uno  tempore  factum." 
Clkr.  in  Jus.  X.  13. — We  read  indeed  of  "psahnsand  ()roverbs,  which 
the  men  nfJvdah  copied  out.^'  [Several  other  hypotheses  concerning 
the  Biiok  of  Jasher  have  been  tiiven  to  the  public  ;  any  of  them  as 
Batisfaetory  as  could  be  expected  in  the  scarcity  ol"  information  on  tho 
8ubj(?ct,  and  abundantly  sulHcient  to  silence  the  cavils  of  the  infidels. 
On  the  whole,  the  opinion  of  Le  Clerc  appears  to  be  the  most  probable.] 


LETTER  XVII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  309 

ral,  An  Adversary ;  and  therefore  the  passage,  1  Chron. 
xxi.,  may  very  properly  be  rendered,  '  An  adversary 
stood  up  against  Israel,  and  excited  David.'  This  adver- 
sary might  be  some  counsellor,  adviser,  &c.  The  other 
passage,  2  Sam.  xxiv.,  may  as  properly  be  translated, 
'The  anger  of  the  Lord  was  'kindled  against  Israel; 
and  one  excited  David,^  or  David  was  excited  by  some 
one,  (the  person  mentioned  in  Chronicles)  saying.  Go, 
number  Israel.' 

Of  the  different  kinds  of  punishment  offered  to  David 
for  his  choice,  upon  this  occasion,  one  is  a  famine  for 
seven  years,  according,to  2  Sam.  xxiv. ;  but  for  three  years 
only,  according  to  1  Chron.  xxi.  It  has  been  observed 
by  some  learned  men,  that  the  year  in  which  this  hap- 
pened was  the  fourth  year  since  a  famine  had  com- 
menced, on  another  occasion,  mentioned  2  Sam.  xxi.  1. 
This  circumstance  considered,  the  question,  as  it  is 
worded  in  one  place, — "  Shall  seven  years  of  famine 
come  unto  thee  in  thy  land  ?"  is  tantamount  to  saying, 
"  Wilt  thou  choose  three  additional  years  of  famine," 
&.C.,  which  removes  the  apparent  contradiction.  It 
may  be  urged,  that  '  The  prophet  delivered  the  message 
no  more  than  once,  and  therefore  must  have  said  either 
seven  or  three :  he  could  not  have  said  hoth.^  True  ; 
but  the  sacred,  like  other  historians,  often  relate  the 
same  conversation  in  different  terms ;  that  is,  they  give 
the  sense  and  substance  of  what  passed,  varying  the 
phraseology.  Instances  frequently  occur  in  both  testa- 
ments. If  no  other  satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty 
could  be  assigned,  candor  and  common  sense  surely 
would  suppose  that  the  word  seven,  in  2  Samuel  xxiv., 
was  originally  three,  especially  as  three  is  the  word  in 
the  Greek  version  of  the  LXX." 

But,  *  If  David  only  sinned,  why  should  the  punish- 
ment fall  upon  the  'people?''  Such  is  the  union  between 
king  and  people,  like  that  between  the  head  and  body, 
that  this  happens  continually  in  the  natural  order  of 
things;  and  therefore,  why  not  judicially  ?  What  greater 
misfortune  can  befall  a  king  or  a  father,  than  the  loss  of 
his  subject,  or  his  children  ? '  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  such  might  not  be  altogether  the  case,  in  the  pre-. 

»» Ta  rpto  Jirtif 


310  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  XVIf, 

sent  instance ;  though  David,  like  a  true  patriot  king 
and  most  affectionate  father,  intercedes  for  his  people, 
and  desires  to  receive  in  his  own  person  and  family, 
the  stroke  that  was  ready  to  descend  on  them.  "  I  have 
sinned,  and  done  wickedly :  these  sheep,  what  have 
they  done?  Let  thine  hand,  I  pray  thee,  be  upon  me, 
and  upon  my  father's  house."  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  I  sa}^,  it  should  seem  that  the  people  were  by  no 
means  without  fault.  For  the  history  opens  thus  :  "The 
anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Israel,  and" — 
as  a  consequence  of  it — "  David  was  excited  to  number 
Israel." 

But  of  what  nature,  then,  after  all,  was  this  act  of 
numbering  the  people,  and  why  should  it  have  been 
followed  by  a  plague  ?  I  am  persuaded  that  we  are 
much  in  the  dark  upon  this  point.  If  any  light  can  be 
thrown  upon  it,  that  light  must  proceed  from,  a  passage 
in  the  book  of  Exodus,  (ch.  xxx.  12,)  where  God  says 
to  Moses,  "  When  thou  takest  the  sum  of  the  children 
of  Israel  after  their  number,  then  shall  they  give  every 
manaransom  forhissoul  unto  the  Lord,  when  thou  num- 
berest  them,  that  there  be  no  plague^among  them  when 
thou  numberest  them."  To  number  the  people,  then,  was 
not,  as  it  should  seem,  merely  to  count  them  out  of 
curiosity,  or  vain  glory.  It  was  a  religious  rite,  it  w^as 
a  muster,  a  review,  or  visitation,  an  inquistion  into  their 
conduct,  into  the  religious  and  moral  state  in  which  they 
at  that  time  stood  before  God.  For  upon  such  inquisi- 
tion something  came  out,  or  appeared  against  them, 
which  required  an  offering,  by  w^ay  of  atonement  or 
ransom  for  their  souls.  "  They  shall  give  a  ransom, 
that  there  be  no  plague  amongst  them  when  thou  num- 
berest them:'''' — a  very  observable  expression  ;  for  when 
David  numbered  them,  this  was  the  very  thing  that  hap- 
pened ;  there  was  a  plague  among  than,  in  consequence 
of  their  being  7\umbered.  They  might  be  in  such  a 
state,  that  God  would  not  accept  them  or  their  offerings. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  they  should  be  in  such  a  state, 
if  we  consider  what  corruptions  must  needs  creep  in 
under  Saul's  wicked  reign,  and  David's  long  wars, 
during  most  of  which  time  the  country  had  been  over- 
run by  the  Philistines,  &c.,  who  would  propagate  their 
idolatry  with   its   flagitious   concomitants.     In   short, 


S^ETTER  XVIII.]     LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY,  811 

Israel  had  provoked  God  ;  for  otherwise  his  anger 
would  not  have  been  kindled  against  them,  as  we  are 
informed  that  it  was  :  their  offences  called  for  punish- 
ment, and  on  numbering  the  people,  an  opportunity 
was  taken  for  inflicting  it.  Joab  appears  to  have  been 
aware  of  the  consequence,  as  a  known  case.  "  Why 
(says  he)  will  my  lord  the  king  be  a  cause  of  punish- 
ment"— trespass  or  forfeiture'' — "  to  Israel?"  As  if  he 
knew,  that  upon  a  visitation,  they  must  be  punished 
who  should  be  found  guilty ;  and  was  unwilling  that 
the  number  of  the  king's  subjects  should  be  lessened. 
But  David  might  think  it  necessary,  and  his  zeal  pre- 
vailed. Otherwise,  it  is  extraordinary  that  such  a  man 
as  Joab  should  see  what  David  either  could  not  or 
would  not  see.  This  account  of  the  transaction  was 
offered  to  the  public,  many  years  ago,  by  a  learned 
writer,  well  skilled  in  biblical  knowledge  and  criticism. 
That  it  is  entirely  free  from  objection,  or  will  solve  all 
difficulties,  is  more,  perhaps,  than  can  be  affirmed.  But 
it  is  curious,  and  certainly  deserves  attention. 

On  the  whole,  to  adopt  the  words  of  Dr.  Chandler, 
"  If  they  who  object,  credit  the  history  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  this  part  of  it,  and  think  it  is  true,  that  one  of 
these  three  plagues  was  offered  to  David,  as  the  punish-^ 
ment  of  his  offence  ;  that  he  chose  the  pestilence  ;  that 
it  came  accordingly,  and  was  removed  upon  his  inter- 
cession ;  they  are  as  much  concerned  to  account  for 
the  difficulties  of  the  affair,  as  I  or  any  other  person 
can  be.  If  they  do  not  believe  this  part  of  the  history, 
as  the  sacred  writers  represent  it,  let  them  give  us  the 
account  of  it,  as  it  stands  in  their  own  imagination  ;  and 
tell  us,  whether  there  was  any  plague  at  all,  how,  and 
why  it  came,  and  how  it  went  and  disappeared  of  a« 
sudden." 


LETTER  XVIII. 

A  FEW  more  doubts  remain,  touching  the  prophecies^ 
and  some  passages  in  the  New  Testament. 

*The  great   evangelical   prophet  could  foretell  tlie^ 


^  nDjy.s'?.     I  Chron.  xxi.  3. 

27* 


312  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  XVIII, 

downfall  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus,  but  would  not  tell  the 
name  of  the  Messiah.' — (p.  39.)  Who  enabled  him  to 
foretell  the  downfall  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus  ?  '  He  might 
take  the  advantage  of  writing  that  prophecy  after  this 
events  took  place,'  say  the  infidels,  (p.  40.)  But  how 
so  ?  Isaiah  spake  of  Cyrus  at  least  a  hundred  years 
before  his  birth.  Had  a  history  of  Cyrus  been  among 
the  books  of  Scripture,  under  the  name  of  Isaiah,  they 
would  have  placed  the  author,  for  longevity,  in  the 
same  class  with  their  friend  Jasher.  '  Isaiah  could  not 
tell  the  name  of  Messiah.'  He  could  have  told  it,  had 
it  been  communicated  to  him,  as  that  of  Cyrus  was.  He 
has  described  Messiah  in  a  manner  not  to  be  mistaken. 
There  might  be  very  good  reasons  why  the  name  was 
not  declared  beforehand.  And  as  God  did  not  see 
proper  to  do  it,  there  certainly  were  such  reasons.  But, 
'  if  Christ  were  intended  by  the  name  of  Immanuel, 
the  prophet  was  mistaken,  for  he  was  never  called  by 
that  name.'  The  first  commentator  one  opens  will  in- 
form one,  that  in  Scripture  language  to  he  called^  is  the 
same  as  to  he.  Thus,  of  Messiah  it  is  said,  (Isa.  ix.  6,) 
*'  His  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  <fec., 
though  he  was  never  called  by  any  of  the  names  there 
enumerated  :  of  the  same  person,  ( Jer.  xxiii.  6,)  "  This 
is  his  name  whereby  he  shall  be  called.  The  Lord  our 
Righteousness  ;" — of  Jerusalem,  (Isa.  i.  26,)  "  Thou 
shalt  be  called.  The  City  of  Righteousness.'^''  No  man 
should  presume  to  criticise  a  book,  if  he  will  not  be  at 
the  pains  to  study  the  phraseology  peculiar  to  it. 

'  If  the  prophecies  are  evident  and  clear,  how  hap- 
pened it  that  the  whole  Jewish  nation,  together  with 
the  angel  Gabriel,  should  mistake,  and  suppose  the 
kingdom  of  Messiah  to  be  temporal?' — (p.  40.)  The 
angel  Gabriel  was  certainly  under  no  mistake  upon  this 
point,  because  of  Christ  he  says  expressly,  (Luke  i.  33,) 
"He  shall  reign  for  ever,  and  of  his  kingdom  there 
shall  be  no  end."  And  as  to  the  case  of  the  Jews,  it  is 
treated  of  at  large  in  a  discourse  under  that  title,  by  the 
author  before-mentioned  at  page  282,  to  which  these 
gentlemen  are  referred. 

'Could  not  these  inspired  writers,  who  prophesied 
concerning  things  of  no  consequence,  as  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver,  and  the  casting  lots  for  Christ's  gar- 


LETTER  XVIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  313 

ments,  have  predicted  with  equal  certainty  the  more 
'important  circumstance  of  his  death  and  resurrection]* 
—(p.  40.)  The  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ  are 
predicted  in  the  strongest  terms,  Ps.  xxii.  ex.  Isa.  liii. 
And  what  can  add  more  weight  to  this  kind  of  evidence, 
than  the  prediction  of  particulars  so  minute  and  circum- 
stantial as  those  of  the  thirty  pieces,  and  the  division 
of  the  garments  by  lot?  One  would  think,  at  the  con- 
templation of  them,  all  infidelity  would  stop  its  mouth, 
instead  of  opening  it. 

*  In  short,  they  beg  to  be  shown  a  single  prophecy, 
concerning  which  divines  are  agreed.' — (p.  41.)  What 
TuLLY  said  of  philosophers  may  be  true  perhaps  of 
divines,  considering  the  multitude  of  them  that  have 
lived  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  to  the  present  time; 
namely,  that  there  never  was  an  opinion,  however 
absurd,  which  has  not  been  maintained  by  some  one  or 
other.  And  therefore,  to  reject  the  evidence  of  pro- 
phecy, till  all  divines  shall  agree  exactly  about  it,  ar- 
gues a  conduct  as  wise  in  the  infidels,  as  if  they  should 
decline  sitting  down  to  a  good  dinner,  till  all  the  clocks 
in  London  and  Westminster  struck  four  together. 

*  They  desire  to  know  why  the  revelation  of  St.  John 
should  be  more  obscure  and  enigmatical  than  any  which 
was  written  during  the  typical  and  shadowy  dispensa- 
tion of  Moses?' — (p.  41.)  Much  valuable  instruction 
in  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion,  may  be  gathered 
from  the  revelation,  in  the  most  clear  and  perspicuous 
manner :  witness  the  Moral  Reflections  on  that  book, 
by   Pere    Quesnelle."^      Of  the    predictions   in   the 


^  [PAsauiER  Q^UESNEL,  a  Priest  of  the  Oratory  at  Paris,  is  hardly  more 
celebrated  for  his  devotional  writings,  which  have  commanded  the  ad- 
miration of  pious  men  in  every  comtimnion  of  Christians,  than  for  the 
persecutions  which  his  peculiar  religious  opinions  brought  upon  him, 
from  the  rulers  of  his  own  Church,  In  1681,  he  was  banished  from 
Paris  to  Orleans,  whence,  in  1685,  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  to  Flan- 
ders. Even  there,  he  was  not  allowed  to  ren.ain  in  quiet,  but  was 
thrown  into  prison  by  tlie  Archbishop  of  Brussels,  in  1703  :  he  escaped 
in  the  same  year,  and  fled  to  Holland,  where  he  died,  in  171!),  aged  86. 
He  was  condemned  for  contumacy,  in  1704.  His  Moral  Reflections 
on  the  New  Testament  (the  very  work  which  has  perpetuated  his 
fime  as  a  writer  of  the  deepest  piety  and  spiritual  niindcdncss)  received 
the  general  condemnation  of  Pope  Clement  XI.  in  1708 ;  and  in  1713, 
the  famous  Constitution,  called  (from  the  first  word)  Unigenitus,  de- 
nounced one  hundred  and  one  propositions  contained  in  it,  as  false  and 


314  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  XVlfl. 

former  part  of  it,  many  have  been  explained  to  general 
satisfaction,  and  others  may  be  so  explained  hereafter ; 
as  by  the  studies  and  labors  of  different  persons,  the 
symbolical  language  of  Scripture  becomes  better  under- 
stood, and  the  events  predicted  are  brought  forward  in 
their  order.  If  sufficient  reasons  may  be  assigned  why 
prophecy  should  be  in  some  degree  obscure  for  a  time, 
they  will  hold,  with  regard  to  those  of  the  New,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  Old  Testament.^  Let  gentlemen  bestow 
due  attention  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity  so  often 
set  before  them.  When  they  shall  thereby  be  happily 
induced  to  believe,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  argue  with 
thiem  on  such  points  as  the  obscurity  of  St.  John's  reve- 
lation, and  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  which  is  scoffed 
at  in  a  very  unbecoming  manner,  in  page  32. 

Thus  much  for  prophecy.  We  proceed  to  some  ob- 
jections against  particular  passages  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

Of  these,  the  first  respects  the  difference  between 
the  genealogy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  given  by 
St.  Matthew,  and  that  given  by  St.  Luke.  On  this 
subject,  let  it  be  observed, — 

1.  That  genealogies  in  general,  and  those  of  the  Jews 
in  particular,  with  their  method  of  deriving  them,  and 
the  confusion  arising  from  the  circumstance  of  the  same 
person  being  called  by  different  names,  or  different 
persons  by  the  same  name,  are  in  their  nature,  and  must 
be  to  us,  at  this  distance  of  time,  matters  of  very  com- 
plicated consideration,  and  it  is  no  wonder  they  should 
be  attended  with  difficulties  and  perplexities. 

2.  The  evangelists,  in  an  affair  of  so  much  import- 
ance, and  so  open  then  to  detection,  had  there  been  any 
thing  wrong  to  be  detected,  would  most  assuredly  be 
careful  to  give  Christ's  pedigree  as  it  was  found  in  the 
authentic  tables,  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
nation,  were  preserved  in  the  family,  as  is  evident  from 


heretical,  condemning  both  the  work  itself,  and  every  thing  written  in 
its  defence! I 

*  [Since  tlie  time  of  Bishop  Hornr,  the  sensible  and  judicious  work 
of  Dean  Woodhousk,  on  the  Apocalyy>se,  has  done  much  towards  les- 
sening the  load  of  ol)loquy  wliicli  co'iDmentators  on  the  revelation  had 
brouglit  upon  themselves  and  the  hook  they  pretended  to  interpret,  by 
their  fauluslic  and  inconsistent  expositions.] 


LETTER  XVIII."!  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  315 

JosEPHUS,  who  says,  "  I  give  you  this  succession  of  our 
family,  as  I  find  it  writlen  in  the  pubhc  tables." 

3.  As  it  was  well  known  the  ^ilessiah  must  descend 
from  David,  the  genealogical  tables  of  that  family- 
would  be  kept  with  more  than  ordinary  diligence  and 
precision. 

4.  Whatever  cavils  the  modern  Jews  and  others 
make  now  against  the  genealogies  recorded  by  the 
evangelists,  the  Jews  their  cotemporaries  never  offered 
to  find  fault  with,  or  to  invalidate  the  accounts  given  in 
the  Gospels.  As  they  wanted  neither  opportunity,  ma- 
terials, skill,  nor  malice,  to  have  done  it,  and  it  would 
have  afforded  them  so  grea.t  an  advantage  against  the 
Christians,  this  circumstance  alone,  as  Dr.  South  well 
remarks,  were  we  not  now  able  to  clear  the  point,  ought 
with  every  sober  and  judicious  person  to  have  the  force 
of  a  moral  demonstration. 

Thus  much  premised,  let  us  hear  the  objection. 
'Matthew  reckons  twenty-seven  generations  from  Da- 
vid to  Christ  ;  Luke  reckons  forty-twft  ;  and  the  names 
totally  disagree.  Matthew  tiaces  the  descent  from  Solo- 
mon, and  Luke  from  Nathan,  both  sons  of  David. 
According  to  our  feeble  notions,  twenty-seven  cannot 
be  equal  to  forty-two;  neither  can  Nathan  be  imagined 
to  be  Solomon.' — (p.  33.)  But  were  the  objectors  never 
informed,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  those  who  have  most 
considered  this  question,  and  were  best  qualified  to 
ansvi^er  it,  St.  Luke  deduces  the  genealogy  of  our  Sa- 
viour, not,  as  St.  Matthew  does,  on  the  side  of  Mary, 
who  by  Jews  and  Christians  is  agreed  to  have  been  the 
daughter  of  Heli.  If,  therefore,  Jacob,  according  to 
St.  Matthew,  were  Joseph's  father  hy  nature,  Heli,  who 
is  said  by  St.  Luke  to  have  been  his  father,  could  only 
have  been  his  father-in-law,  by  his  marriage  with  Mary 
the  daughter  of  Heli,  whose  genealogy  is  there  given 
by  St.  Luke ;  to  show  that  every  way  Christ  "  sprang 
from  Judah,"  as  was  evident  (by  the  testimony  of  the 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews)  to  all  of  that  age ; 
and  that  he  was  "of  the  seed  of  David;"  his  real  mother, 
no  less  than  his  supposed  father,  being  "of  the  house 
and  lineage  of  David."  Disputes  may  be  raised  and 
maintained  to  the  end  of  the  world,  on  many  other  diffi- 
culties which  occur  in  the  two  genealogies.    "  But  those 


316  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [lETTER  XVIII. 

who  are  acquainted  with  the  customs  of  the  Jews  know 
there  are  many  genealogies  which  seem  repugnant,  and 
yet  are  not  so.  And  that  may  happen  various  ways, 
as  may  easily  be  proved  from  books  which  the  Jews  and 
we  jointly  acknowledge.  There  are  several  methods 
of  reconciling  these  difficulties,  though  it  be  often  hard 
to  say  which  is  the  best,  at  the  distance  of  so  many 
ages,  all  records,  and  even  memory,  of  these  things 
being  utterly  lost.'"" 

I  would  gently  admonish  the  infidels,  if  they  touch 
upon  this  subject  again,  to  behave  with  better  manners 
than  they  have  done  in  their  34th  page. 

The  excellent  Pascal  has  observed,  as  many  others 
have  done  before  and  after  him,  that  the  evangelists,  by 
differing  in  some  things  from  each  other,  have  afforded 
us  a  proof  of  their  not  having  written  in  concert,  and 
that  such  difference  is  so  far  an  argument  in  their  favor. 
The  observation  is  sensible  and  just.  Not  so  the  infer- 
ence drawn  by  the  objectors,  (p.  35,)  that  therefore, 
*  contradiction  in  evidence  is  a  mark  of  truth.'  For 
Mr.  Pascal  did  not  allow,  or  suppose,  any  more  than 
we  do,  that  the  evangelists,  when  rightly  understood 
and  explained,  really  contradicted  each  other.  His 
words,  as  cited  by  themselves,  are,  "  Les  foible sses  les 
plus  APPARENTEs  sout  <}e  foTces,^^  &-C.  This  is  a  piece 
of  coin  from  the  mint  of  Ferney,"  and  bears  strongly 
impressed  upon  it  the  image  and  superscription  of  the 
coiner. 

'When  Christ  was  baptized  by  John,  the  heavens 
were  opened,  and  a  voice  was  heard,  declaring  his  di- 
vine origin  :  such  a  prodigy  must  have  awakened  the 
attention  of  all  Judea  ;  yet  we  find  the  historians  per- 
fectly silent.' — (p.  35.)  What  historians  ?  A  pagan 
historian  would  not  concern  himself  with  the  report  of 
a  Jewish  prodigy  ;  nor  could  a  Jewish  historian  have 
related  a  circumstance  favorable  to  Christianity,  unless 
he  had  himself  become  a  Christian.  But  would  any 
writer  of  common  sense  have  hazarded  the  relation  of 


♦>  Dr.  Trapp  on  the  Gospels,  p.  82,  second  edit.  See  likewise  Dr. 
SouTH's  seventh  sermon,  in  his  third  volume,  and  Macknight's 
Harmony. 

•  [The  residence  of  Voltaire.] 


LETTER  XVIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  317 

sudi  a  fact,  as  having  happened  in  the  presence  of  a 
multitude  of  witnesses,  if  it  never  had  so  happened? 

*It  is  strange  that  the  horrid  massacre  of  the  children 
by  the  command  of  Herod,  should  be  totally  unnoticed 
by  JosEPHUs.' — (p.  35.)  It  was  too  nearly  related  to 
the  birth  of  the  wonderful  child  which  occasioned  it, 
and  concerning  which  Josephus  thought  that  questions 
might  be  asked.  For  otherwise,  is  it  not  equally  strange^ 
that  he  should  be  totally  silent  concerning  the  life  and 
death  of  Christ,  and  the  appearance  of  a  new  religion 
which  had  extended  itself  to  Rome,  and  attracted  the 
notice  of  the  historians  there  ?  Yet,  if  the  celebrated 
passage '^  be  an  interpolation  (as  these  gentlemen  deem 
it  to  be)  of  such  events  has  Josephus  said  nothing, 
though  falling  within  a  period  the  transactions  of  which 
are  by  him  minutely  and  exactly  related.  But  though 
Josephus  was  silent,  and  had  good  reasons  for  being 
so,  it  evidently  appears  from  the  often  cited  passage  of 
Macrobius,  that  Herod's  slaughter  of  the  infants  in 
Judea  was  a  thing  well  known  in  his  time,  and  was  not 
contested  by  Heathens. <=  We  may  add,  as  in  the  case 
above,  that  St-  Matthew  must  have  been  out  of  his  senses 
to  have  told  such  a  story  as  this,  had  it  been  otherwise 
than  true;  nor  is  there  any  thing  in  the  character  of 
Herod  that  renders  it  improbable — quite  the  contrary. 

As  to  the  sneers  upon  interpolations  and  pious 
frauds,  in  p.  36,  I  am  sorry  occasion  has  ever  been 
given  for  them.  We  want  no  such  aids.  Magna  est 
Veritas,  et  prcBvalehit.  I  only  wish  that  our  adversa- 
ries, in  their  representations  of  the  Scriptures  and 
Christianity,  were  never  guilty  o{ frauds  which  are  not 
quite  so  pious. 

The  purport  in  a  few  words,  of  all  the  parade  and 
flourish,  p.  37,  is  this.  '  Our  Lord  and  St.  Paul  fore- 
told the  end  of  the  world,  as  an  event  that  should 
happen  in  their  time.     It  did  not  so  happen  ;  therefore 


d  [Jewish  Antiquities,  Book  xviii.  Ch.  iii.  §  3.  See  a  defence  of  tho 
genuineness  of  this  passage  in  Horne's  Introduction  to  the  Scriptures^ 
Vol.  II.  Part  I.  ch.  vii.  No.  .3.]  .    • 

*  "  Inter  pueros,  quos  in  Syria  Herodes  Rex  Judceorum  intra  bina~ 
tumjussit  occidiy — .Macrob.  Saturnal.  Lib.  IT.  cap.  4.  See  at  large 
on  this  subject,  Lardnrr's  Credibility,  Part  I.  B.  II.  ch.  ii.,  and  Find^ 
LAY  against  Voltaire^  p.  541. 


318  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  XVIII. 

they  were  under  a  mistake  and  delusion.' — Our  Lord, 
Luke,  xxi.,  in  that  figurative  and  majestic  style  well  un- 
derstood by  those  who  understand  the  language  of 
Scripture,  describes  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish 
polity  and  system.  The  terms  may,  and  do  apply  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  for  this  obvious  reason,  that  the 
two  events  are  in  many  instances  parallel  and  ana- 
logous. His  own  declaration  shows  plainly  of  which 
he  was  primarily  and  immediately  speaking — "  This 
generation  shall  not  pass  away,  till  all  these  things  are 
fulfilled  ;"  and  the  figures  are  those  usually  employed, 
in  like  case,  by  the  prophets  of  old.  The  charge 
against  St.  Paul  is  founded  solely  on  his  use  of  the 
first  person,  in  1  Thess.  iv.  16.  "  We,  who  are  alive 
and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the 
air."  But  how  common  is  it  for  us,  when  speaking  of 
a  society,  an  army,  a  nation,  to  which  we  belong,  to 
say,  we  went,  or  came,  or  did  such  a  thing,  or  shall  do 
so  and  so ;  though  we  ourselves  neither  had  nor  shall 
have  any  personal  concern  in  the  matter;  though  the 
event  happened  before  we  were  born,  or  is  to  happen 
after  our  decease  ?  Thus,  in  the  Old  Testament,  Ps. 
Ixvi.  6.  "  They  went  through  the  water — there  did  we 
rejoice  :" — Hosea  xi.  4.  "  Jacob  found  God  in  Bethel ; 
there  he  spake  with  tis.^^  By  the  terms  "  we  who  are 
alive,"  the  apostle  means  no  doubt,  those  of  us  Chris- 
tians who  shall  then  be  alive.  In  another  place,  1  Cor. 
iv.  4.  he  says,  "  We  know  that  he  who  raised  up  the 
Lord  Jesus,  shall  raise  up  us  also."  He  could  not  be- 
lieve contradictory  propositions,  that  he  should  die, 
and  that  he  should  not  die.  But,  what  is  decisive  upon 
the  point — in  the  second  Epistle  to  the  same  Thessalo- 
nians,  written  only  a  i'ew  months  after  the  first,  he  most 
earnestly  admonishes  them  not  to  be  deceived,  as  if  by 
any  thing  that  had  fallen  from  him,  either  in  speech  or 
writing,  they  were  to  imagine  "  the  day  of  God  was  at 
hand ;"  since  the  grand  apostacy  and  other  events, 
which  required  much  intervening  time  for  their  accom- 
plishment, were  first  to  take  place  in  the  world.  See 
2Thess.  i.  2.  Nay  he  reminds  them,  verse  4,  that  he  had 
told  them  as  much,  while  he  was  yet  "with  them;" 
that  is,  before  either  e()i.stle  was  written. 

*  How  came  it  to  pass  that  Christ  should  curse  a  fig 


L1STTER  XVIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  319 

tree  for  being  without  fruit  in  March  ;  or  be  ignorant 
that  it  was  not  the  season  for  figs  V — (p.  41.) 

1.  It  is  certain  in  fact,  that  one  sort  of  figs  was  ripe 
at  that  time  of  the  year,  namely,  at  the  passover. 

2.  By  the  season  of  figs  may  be  meant  the  season 
o(  gathering  figs,  as  in  Matt.  xxi.  34.  "  When  the  time, 
or  season,  of  the  fruit  drew  near,"  that  is  plainly,  the 
time  for  gathering  the  fruit,  "  the  lord  of  the  vineyard 
sent  his  servants  to  receive  the  fruit."  If  therefore  one 
sort  of  figs  was  ripe  about  that  time  of  the  year,  and 
yet  the  time  for  gathering  them  was  not  fully  come, 
Christ  might  with  reason  expect  to  find  fruit  on  the 
tree.  In  construing  this  passage  thus  interpreted,  as 
Mr.  Macknight  observes,  the  latter  clause  must  be 
joined  with  the  words  he  came  if  haply  he  might  find 
any  thing  thereon,  and  the  intermediate  words  thrown 
into  a  parenthesis,  thus — He  came  if  haply  he  might 

find  any  thing  thereon  {and  when  he  came  to  it  he 
found  nothing  but  leaves)  for  the  time  of  figs -^-'^ 
gathering  figs — was  not  yet.  That  this  is  the  true  cor  • 
struction  (adds  Mr.  Macknight)  is  plain,  because  th 
evangelist  is  not  giving  the  reason  why  there  were  no 
figs  on  the  tree,  but  the  reason  why  Jesus  expected  to 
find  some  on  it.  He  tells  us  the  season  for  gathering 
figs  was  not  yet  come,  to  show  that  none  had  been 
taken  oft*  the  tree  ;  and  consequently,  that  havino-  its 
whole  produce  upon  it,  there  was  nothing  improper  in 
Christ's  expecting  fruit  on  it  then.  Whereas,  if  we 
shall  think  the  reason  why  he  did  not  find  any  figs  was, 
that  the  time  of  them  was  not  come,  we  must  acknow- 
ledge, that  the  tree  was  cursed  very  improperly  for 
having  none.  This  interpretation  makes  a  trajeciion 
necessary  ;  but  there  is  one  of  the  same  kind  in  Mark 
xvi.  3,  4.  where  the  clause,  for  it  was  very  greaty 
namely  the  stone  at  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  does  not 
relate  to  what  immediately  precedes  it,  and  must  be 
considered  parenthetically,  but  to  the  remote  member 
— They  said  amongst  themselves,  Who  shall  roll  us 
away  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre  ?  (and 
when  they  looked,  they  saw  the  stone  rolled  away)— for 
it  was  very  great. 

I  cannot  help  here  observing,  once  more,  that  when 
in  any  writer  we  meet  with  absurdities  so  glaring  and 

Vol.  v.— 38 


330  LETTERS    ON    INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  XVIII. 

palpable  as  this  and  others  imputed  to  the  evangelists, 
it  is  but  doing  him  common  justice,  whoever  he  be,  to 
take  it  for  granted  that,  by  some  means  or  other,  we 
misapprehend  his  meaning  ;  and  mere  candor  should 
induce  us,  instead  of  cavilling  and  squabbling,  gladly  to 
accept  of  any  fair  and  equitable  interpretation  of  his 
words,  that  may  serve  to  clear  them  of  such  supposed 
absurdity,  and  to  set  him  right  in  our  opinion. 

Our  Saviour  is  scoffed  at,  for  having  affirmed,  '  that 
wheat  does  not  produce  fruit  except  it  d/e.' — (p.  41.)  A 
grain  of  corn,  when  laid  in  the  earth,  swells,  putrifies, 
suffers  a  dissolution  of  its  parts,  shoots  its  fibres,  and 
disappears.  This  is  a  death  and  resurrection  sufficient 
to  answer  all  the  purposes  for  which  the  illustration  is 
adduced  by  our  Lord  and  St.  Paul. 

'  John  the  Baptist  being  asked  if  he  were  Elias,  an- 
swered I  am  not;  but  Jesus  affirms  the  contrary.' — 
(p.  42.)  He  was  Elias  in  spirit  and  in  power ;  but  he 
was  not  the  personal  Elias,  or  Elijah,  whom  the  people 
erroneously  expected,  and  the  priests  meant  when  they 
asked  him,  '  Art  thou  Elias  V 

*  Out  of  forty  gospels  we  receive  four  as  canonical. 
— Why  do  we  receive  them,  and  not  the  rest  V — (p.  42.) 
For  the  best  reasons  in  the  world,  assigned  at  large  by 
Dr.  Lardner  in  his  Credibility,^  &c.,  a  work  which 
these  gentlemen  should  answer,  or  for  ever  hold  their 
peace  upon  this  subject.  The  true  gospels  are  shown 
by  proper  evidence  to  have  been  written  at  the  time  when 
they  are  said  to  have  been  written,  and  by  the  persons 
whose  names  they  bear.  It  matters  not  how  many 
others  were  written,  if  upon  their  appearance,  after 
due  examination,  they  were  found  to  be  spurious,  and 
rejected  as  such. 

The  primitive  Christians  are  complained  of  (p.  43.) 
for  '  preventing  the  arguments  against  their  religion 
from  being  exposed  to  view.' — I  hope  there  is  no  ground 
for  any  such  complaint  now.^     There  is  no  argument 


(  See  the  review  of  his  work  in  the  12th  volume.  [The  9th  chapter 
of  Part  I.  of  Paley's  Evidences  is  a  brief,  but  luminous  statement  of 
the  substance  of  Lardner's  argument.] 

«  [Bp,  HoRXE,  it  may  be  presumed,  refrained  from  giving  this  objec- 
tion a  more  direct  answer,  on  account  of  its  absurdity.  It  is  well  known, 
that  for  more  than  three  centuries  it  was  not  at  the  option  of  *  the  prirai- 


LETTER  XVIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  321 

yet  devised  against  Christianity,  we  may  presume, 
which  has  not  been  proposed  in  public  ;  and  there  is 
none,  we  may  affirm,  which  has  not  received  its  answer. 

The  few  remaining  pages  of  this  pamphlet  are  spent 
in  enumerating  some  particulars  in  the  history  of  our 
Lord's  passion  and  resurrection,  which  are  differently 
related  by  the  four  evangelists.  But  how  many  times 
have  these  objections  been  considered,  and  replied  to  ? 
Have  the  infidels  the  modesty  or  the  conscience  to  ex- 
pect, that  we  are  to  draw  up  a  new  harmony  of  the 
gospels,  as  often  as  one  of  them  shall  think  proper  to 
ask  a  few  old  questions  over  again  ?  If  any  Christian 
find  himself  perplexed  by  difficulties  of  this  sort,  let  him 
carefully  peruse  the  gospels  as  they  lie  in  Macknight's 
Harmony  and  Commentary,  and  weigh  well  the  solu- 
tions of  such  difficulties  with  which  that  book  will  fur- 
nish him.^ 

These  gentlemen  tell  us  in  plain  terms  that  '  the 
event  of  Christ's  resurrection  bears  every  mark  of  a 
forgery  ;'~(p.  46.)  and  speak  of  the  apostles  as  men  '  en- 
gaged in  the  attempt  of  forming  a  sect  or  party  ;'  that 
is,  as  men  who  had  projected  a  plan  (and  thought  them- 
selves able  to  execute  it)  of  persuading  the  world  that 


tive  Christians,'  whether  or  not  the  arguments  against  their  religion 
should  be  exposed  to  view.  It  was  mucli,  if  they  could  obtain  a  hear- 
ing for  their  own  apologies.  1 

h  [Perhaps  the  end  would  be  even  better  answered,  by  a  reference  to 
Archbishop  Newcome's  excellent  Harmony  and  Observations.  Even 
to  this,  objections  may  be  made,  and  it  is  prt)bable,  some  that  will  hardly 
admit  of  answer;  but  it  may  be  most  confidently  asserted,  that  they 
are  neither  more  in  number,  nor  greater  in  kind,  than  may  be  drawn 
from  the  comparison  of  any  four  narratives  of  a  single  series  of  events 
by  profane  historians  ;  nor  do  they,  in  any  case,  affect  matters  essential 
to  Christian  faith  or  practice. — West's  admirable  work  on  the  Resur- 
rection, though  it  is  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  only  one  of  the 
great  events  of  our  Saviour's  hfe,  will  be  found  abundantly  sufficient, 
if  carefully  peru.sed,  to  remove  every  difficulty  arising  from  apparent 
discrepancies  in  the  gospel  narratives.  It  shows  how  completely  such 
difficulties  vanish  under  patient  and  sagacious  investigation,  and  how 
perfectly  futile  objection^  mu.st  be,  which  have  tlieir  foundation  in  the 
mere  external  aspect  of  the  history.  Had  every  point  in  the  harmony 
of  the  Gospels  undergone  examination  as  thorough  and  as  able  as  that 
which  West  has  given  to  the  history  of  the  resurrection,  the  cavils  of 
infidelity  would  have  been  (not  silenced^  for  that  is  hopeless,  but)  proved 
utterly  worthless  and  absurd.] 


322  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  XVIII, 

their  Master  was  risen  from  the  dead,  when  he  was  not 
risen,  and  of  propagating  over  the  earth  a  new  reHgion, 
upon  the  strength  of  that  persuasion.  We  can  know 
no  more  of  the  apostles  than  the  gospel  history  with 
great  simplicicily  and  evident  sincerity  informs  us.  Let 
any  man  duly  consider  their  characters  and  qualifica- 
tions as  there  described  ;  let  him  then  stand  forth,  lay 
his  hand  upon  his  heart,  and  say,  that  he  can  possibly 
bring  himself,  for  a  single  moment,  to  believe,  they 
could  ever  have  entertained  the  thought  of  projecting 
and  executing  such  a  plan.  I  should  be  glad  to  see 
that  man.  I  would  subscribe  handsomely  towards 
erecting  a  statue  to  his  memory.  For  take  him  either 
as  a  fool,  or  as  a  knave,  he  is  at  the  top  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

But  if  no  such  plan  by  such  persons  were  or  could 
be  concerted,  then  the  evidence  of  the  apostles  and 
disciples  (lo  five  hundred  of  whom  Christ  appeared  at 
once,  and  among  whom  he  walked  in  and  out  for  forty 
days  together)  is  as  good  and  valid  for  the  fact  of  his 
resurrection,  as  for  any  other  fact  concerning  his  life 
or  his  death.  Nor  is  it  true,  that  '  God  chose  to  deprive 
all  mankind  of  the  proper  evidence  of  the  resurrection, 
because  the  Jews  of  that  age  were  sinners.'  Whatever 
evidence  it  had  pleased  God  to  vouchsafe  to  'the  Jews 
of  that  age,'  "'all  mankind'  besides  could  have  received 
it  only  upon  testimony ;  and  they  now  enjoy,  upon  tes- 
timony, more  and  better  evidence  for  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  than  ever  was  produced  for  any  one  trans- 
action that  has  happened,  from  Adam  to  the  present 
hour.  The  descent  of  the  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost; the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  by  instruments 
otherwise  totally  inadequate  to  the  work ;  the  conver- 
sion of  so  many  thousand  Jews ;  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem;  and  the  establishment  of  the  Christian 
Church,  in  opposition  to  the  efforts  of  the  whole  Roman 
empire — all  these  considerations,  added  to  the  original 
positive  evidence  for  the  fact,  and  the  futility  and  ab- 
surdity, of  the  arguments  then  and  since  employed  to 
invalidate  it,  form  such  a  moral  demonstration  in  its 
favor — the  only  demonstration  we  can  have,  in  cases  of 
this  kind — that  there  must  be  something  very  wrong 
iadeed  in  the  head  or  the  heart  of  him,  who,  at   this 


LETTER  XVIII.]    LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.  323 

time  of  day,  sets  himself  to  deny  and  blaspheme  it. 
With  joy  and  pleasure  I  desire  to  risk  upon  the  truth  of 
it  every  thing  that  is  dear  to  me,  in  this  life  and  that 
which  is  to  come. 

It  is  asked  (p.  47)  whether  God  expects  that  we 
should  'show  our  faith  and  reliance  on  him  by  making 
a  sacrifice  of  our  reason,  and  believing,  not  by  an  act 
of  the  understanding,  but  of  the  will  ?' 

How  necessary,  in  many  cases,  the  concurrence  of 
the  will  is  towards  the  production  of  faith,  daily  expe- 
rience may  convince  us.  We  see  men  rejecting  the 
strongest  evidence,  when  opposed  by  interest,  prejudice, 
and  passion;  and  accepting  the  slightest,  which  falls  in 
with  them.  The  best  arguments  in  the  world  avail  no- 
thing on  one  side,  when  pride,  pleasure,  and  profit  are 
engaged  on  the  other.  Hope  of  what  is  deemed  good, 
and  fear  of  what  is  deemed  evil,  will  find  means  to 
elude  the  force  of  all  the  syllogisms  which  the  most 
skilful  disciple  of  Aristotle  can  frame.  "This  man,'* 
said  the  ruler  of  the  Jews,  "  doeth  many  miracles." — 
Acknowledge  and  receive  him,  therefore,  as  a  man 
sent  from  God. — 'No:  we  will  apprehend  and  crucify 
him,' — For  what  reason? — Because  "  if  we  let  him 
alone,  all  men  will  believe  in  him  ;  and  the  Romans 
will  come  and  take  away  our  place  and  nation." — But 
he  has  raised  Lazarus  from  the  dead. — '  Why  then,  we 
will  put  Lazarus  to  death  again.' — What  can  be  done 
with  such  people  as  these?  Or  what  effect  would 
the  appearance  of  Christ  among  them  after  his  resur- 
rection have  produced,  but  that  of  provoking  fresh 
blasphemies,  and  fresh  insults  ? 

And  thus  you  see,  dear  sir,  we  are  come  round  to  the 
point  from  whence  we  set  out.  Assent  to  proper  evi- 
dence is  an  act  of  the  highest  reason.  Such  evidence 
for  revelation,  once  established,  is  not  to  be  set  aside, 
or  invalidated,  by  any  difficulties,  supposed  or  real, 
w^hich  may  occur  in  the  matter  of  that  revelation.  Malice 
and  ignorance  will  always  find  room  for  objections, 
and  they  will  never  believe,  who  have  no  mind  to  be- 
lieve. The  infidels,  therefore,  have  not  ground  for  the 
surmise,  that  we  want  to  'deprive  them  of  God's  best 
gift.'  We  wish  only  to  teach  them  the  right  use  of  itu 
^8* 


334  LETTERS  ON  INFIDELITY.    [LETTER  XVIII. 

Reason  is  not  '  the  first  and  only  revelation  from  God;' 
for  it  is,  properly  speaking,  no  revelation  at  all.  Man, 
at  his  creation,  was  not  left  so  much  as  a  single  day  to 
reason.  It  is  the  eye,  not  the  light.  It  can  with  cer- 
tainty know  nothing  concerning  the  things  of  another 
world,  but  by  information  from  thence.  To  this  truth 
the  writings  of  the  best  and  wisest  among  the  Heathen 
philosophers  bear  a  testimony  irrefragable  and  insur- 
mountable. It  is  the  faculty  which  enables  us  upon 
proper  evidence  to  receive,  and  after  due  study  to  under- 
stand such  information.  And  blessed  is  he,  who,  at  the 
return  of  his  Lord  to  judgment,  shall  be  found  to  have 
so  employed  it. 

The  production  which  has  thus  passed  under  our 
consideration,  from  the  low  and  illiberal  manner  in 
which  it  is  penned,  has  been  by  many  accounted  to  be 
beneath  notice.  But  nothing  is  beneath  notice  which 
is  calculated  to  deceive  and  seduce  the  ignorant  and 
the  unwary,  among  whom,  though  even  now  scarce 
known  in  the  shops,  this  pamphlet  has  been  privately 
spread,  and  recommended  as  a  chef  d'o^uvre ;  and 
though  the  execution  be  coarse  and  mean,  the  ob- 
jections, in  substance,  are  such,  as  continually  oc- 
cur in  writings  of  a  much  higher  class,  which  make 
a  part  of  the  furniture  of  every  circulating  library 
through  Great  Britain,  from  whence  they  pass  into 
the  hands  of  our  idle  young  people  of  fashion,  while 
under  the  discipline  of  the  friseur,  in  the  metropolis,  or 
at  the  watering  places.  The  answers  published  by  No- 
NOTTE,  Bergier,  and  others,  to  the  books  of  Voltaire 
Rousseau,  Helvetius,  Boulainvilliers,  &c.,  &c., 
have  been  much  called  for,  and  done  eminent  service, 
upon  the  continent :  and  it  is  humbly  hoped,  the  fore- 
going strictures  may  not  be  without  their  use  here  in 
England. 


A   LETTER 

TO 

ADAM    SMITH,    LL.  D. 

ON 

THE   LIFE,  DEATH,  AND  PHILOSOPHY, 

OF  HIS  FRIEND, 

DAVID  HUME,  ESQ. 


BY    GEORGE    HORNE,   D.  D. 

LATE  BISHOP  OF  NORWICH. 


Ibatit  obscuri,  sola  sub  node,  per  umbram, 

Perque  domos  Ditis  vacuas,  et  inania  regna.—  Virg-. 


LETTER,  &a 


Sir, — You  have  been  lately  employed  in  embalming" 
a  philosopher ;  his  body,  I  believe  I  must  say  ;  for  con- 
cerning the  other  part  of  him,  neither  you  nor  he 
seem  to  have  entertained  an  idea,  sleeping  or  waking. 
Else  it  surely  might  have  claimed  a  little  of  your  care 
and  attention  ;  and  one  would  think,  the  belief  of  the 
soul's  existence  and  immortality  could  do  no  harm,  if  it 
did  no  good,  in  a  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments.'^  But 
every  gentleman  understands  his  own  business  best. 

Will  you  do  an  unknown  correspondent  the  honor, 
!iir,  to  accept  a  iew  remarks  in  a  free  and  easy  way, 
upon  the  curious  Letter  to  Mr.  Strahan,  in  which  this 
ever  remarkable  operation  of  embalming  is  performed  ( 
Our  philosopher's  account  of  his  own  life  will  likewise 
be  considered  as  we  go  along. 

Trust  me,  good  Doctor,  I  am  no  bigot,  enthusiast,  or 
enemy  to  human  learning, — Et  ego  in  Arcadia.^ — I 
have  made  many  a  hearty  meal,  in  private,  upon  Cicero 
and  Virgil,  as  well  as  Mr.  Hume.''  Few  persons 
(though  perhaps  as  Mr.  Hume  says,  upon  a  like  occa- 
sion, "  I  ought  not  to  judge  upon  that  subject")  have  a 
quicker  relish  for  the  productions  of  genius,  and  the 
beauties  of  composition.  It  is  therefore  as  little  in  my 
intention,  as  it  is  in  my  power,  to  prejudice  the  literary 
character  of  your  friend. 

From  some  of  his  writings  I  have  received  great 
pleasure,  and  have  ever  esteemed  his  History  of  Eng- 
land to  have  been  a  noble  effort  of  "  matter  and  mo- 
tion.'"'^ But  when  a  man  takes  it  into  his  head  to  do 
mischief,  you  must  be  sensible,  sir,  the  public  has 
always  reason  to  lament  his  being  a  "  clever  fellow." 


"  [The  celebrated  production  of  that  name,  pubHshed  by  Dr.  Smith.] 
b  [I,  too,  was  bred  in  Arcadia.]  °  Li-fi,  P-  5- 

<!  [The  constituent  principles  of  man,  and  therefore  of  Mr.  Hume, 
upon  his  own  theory.] 


328  LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH. 

I  hope  it  will  not  be  deemed  vanity  in  me  likewise  to 
say,  that  I  have  in  my  composition  a  large  share  of 
that,  which  our  inimitable  Shakspeare  styles  **  the 
milk  of  human  kindijess."  I  never  knew  what  envy 
or  hatred  was ;  and  am  ready,  at  all  times,  to  praise, 
wherever  I  can  do  it  in  honor  and  conscience.  David, *= 
I  doubt  not,  was,  as  you  affirm,  a  social,  agreeable  per- 
son, of  a  convivial  turn,  told  a  good  story,  and  played 
well  at  "  his  favorite  game  of  whist."f  I  know  not 
that  John  the  painter^  did  the  same.  But  there  is  no 
absurdity  in  the  supposition.  If  he  did  not,  he  might 
have  done  it. — Doctor,  be  not  offended — I  mean  no 
harm,  I  would  only  infer  thus  much,  that  I  could  not, 
on  that  account,  bring  myself  absolutely  to  approve 
his  odd  fancy  of  firing  all  the  dock  yards  in  the 
kingdom. 

Concerning  the  ■philosophical  opinions  of  Mr.  Hume, 
you  observe,'^  that  "  men  will  no  doubt,  judge  variously." 
They  are  certainly  at  liberty  so  to  do,  because  the  au- 
thor himself  did  the  same.  Sometimes,  to  be  sure,  he 
esteemed  them  ingenious,  deep,  subtle,  elegant,  and 
calculated  to  diffuse  his  literary  fame  to  the  ends  of  the 
world.  But  at  other  times,  he  judged  very  differently  ; 
very  much  so  indeed:  "  I  dine,"  says  he,  "  I  play  a 
game  at  backgammon,  I  converse  and  am  merry  with 
my  friends  ;  and  when  after  three  or  four  hours'  amuse- 
ment, I  would  return  to  those  speculations,  they  appear 
so  cold^  so  strained,  and  so  ridiculous,  that  I  cannot 
find  in  my  heart  to  enter  into  them  any  further."'  Now, 
sir,  if  you  only  will  give  me  leave  to  judge,  before  din- 
ner, of  Mr.  Hume's  philosophy,  as  he  judged  of  it  after 
dinner,  we  shall  have  no  further  dispute  upon  that  sub- 
ject. I  could  indeed  wish  it  were  possible  to  have  a 
scheme  of  thought  which  would  bear  contemplating,  at 
any  time  of  the  day ;  because,  otherwise,  a  person  must 
be  at  the  expense  of  maintaining  a  brace  of  these  meta- 


«  [Hume.]        f  Life^  t^-c.  p.  43. 

^  [A  lunatic,  who  about  the  time  when  this  Letter  was  published, 
had  wrought  himself  into  celebrity  by  the  mad  scheme  mentioned  in 
the  text.]  h  Life,  tf-c.  p.  58. 

i  Treatise  on  Human  Nature,  Vol.  I.  p.  467.  In  the  postscript  to 
this  letter  a  view  will  be  exhibited  of  the  Human  system,  taken  exactly 
as  it  appeared  to  its  author  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening. 


LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH.  329 

physical  hobby-horses,  one  to  mount  in  the  morning, 
and  the  other  in  the  afternooon. 

After  all,  sir,  friend  as  I  am  to  freedom  of  opinion, 
(and  no  one  living  can  be  more  so,)  I  am  rather  sorry, 
methinks,  that  men  should  judge  so  variously  of  Mr. 
Hume's  philosophical  speculations.  For  since  the  de- 
sign of  them  is  to  banish  out  of  the  world  every  idea  of 
truth  and  comfort,  salvation  and  immortality,  a  future 
state,  and  the  providence,  and  even  the  existence  of  God, 
it  seems  a  pity,  that  we  cannot  be  all  of  a  mind  about 
them,  though  we  might  have  formerly  liked  to  hear  the 
author  crack  a  joke  over  a  bottle  in  his  life  time.  And 
I  could  have  been  well  pleased  to  have  been  informed, 
by  you,  sir,  that  before  his  death,  he  had  ceased  to 
number  among  his  happy  effusions  tracts  of  this  kind 
and  tendency. 

For — let  me  come  a  little  closer  to  you.  Dr.,  if  you 
please,  upon  this  subject — don't  be  under  any  appre- 
hensions— my  name  does  not  begin  with  a  B' — Are 
you  sure,  and  can  you  make  us  sure,  that  there  really 
exist  no  such  things  as  a  God,  and  a  future  state  of  re- 
wards and  punisJiments  ?  If  so,  all  is  well.  Let  us, 
then,  in  our  last  hours,  read  Lucian,'^  P^^^y  ^^  whist,  and 
droll  upon  Charon  and  his  boat;'  let  us  die  as  foolish 
and  insensible,  as  much  like  our  brother  philosophers, 
the  calves  of  the  field  and  the  asses  of  the  desert,  as  we 
can  for  the  life  of  us.  But— if  such  things  be — as  they 
most  certainly  are — is  it  right  in  you,  sir,  to  hold  up 
to  our  view,  as  "  perfectly  wise  and  virtuous,"*"  the  cha- 
racter and  conduct  of  one  who  seems  to  have  been  pos- 
sessed with  an  incurable  antipathy  to  all  that  is  called 
RELIGION ;  and  who  strained  every  nerve  to  explode, 
suppress,  and  extirpate  the  spirit  of  it  among  men,  that 
its  very  name,  if  he  could  effect  it,  might  no  more  be 
had  in  remembrance?     Are  we,  do  you  imagine,  to  be 


s  [A  humorous  allusion  to  Dr.  Beattie's  Essay  on  Truth,  a  refuta- 
tion of  Hume's  principles,  which  had  greatly  annoyed  the  philosopher 
and  his  followers.  J 

h  [The  celebrated  Greek  burlesque  writer,  who  employed  all  the 
powers  of  keen  and  varied  wit  in  ridiculing  the  Heathen  mythology, 
while  he  was,  nevertheless,  a  Heathen  by  profession.] 

•  Life,  p.  47,  et.  seq.,  [where  it  is  stated  that  such  were  the  occupa- 
tion of  Hume's  last  hours.] 

k  Ibid.,  p.  50. 


^30  tETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH. 

reconciled  to  a  character  of  this  sort,  and  fall  in  love 
with  it,  because  its  owner  was  "  good  company,"  and 
knew  how  to  manage  his  cards  ?  Low  as  the  age  has 
fallen,  I  will  venture  to  hope  ii  has  grace  enough  yet  left 
to  resent  such  usage  as  this. 

You  endeavor  to  entertain  us  with  some  pleasant 
conceits  that  were  supposed  by  Mr.  Hume  to  pass  be- 
tween himself  and  old  Charon.  The  philosopher  tells 
the  old  gentleman  that  "  he  had  been  endeavoring  to 
open  the  eyes  of  the  public  ;"  that  he  was  "  correcting 
his  works  for  a  new  edition,"  from  which  great  things 
were  to  be  expected ;  in  short,  "  if  he  could  live  a  few 
years  longer,  (and  that  was  the  only  reason  why  he 
should  wish  to  do  so,)  he  might  have  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  downfall  of  some  of  the  prevailing  systems 
oi  superstition.^'' ' 

We  all  know,  sir,  what  the  word  "superstition"  de- 
notes in  Mr.  Hume's  vocabulary,  and  against  what  reli- 
gion his  shafts  are  levelled,  under  that  name.  But,  Dr. 
Smith,  do  you  believe,  or  would  you  have  us  to  believe, 
that  it  is  Charon  who  calls  us  out  of  the  world  at  the 
appointed  time  ?  Doth  not  He  call  us  out  of  it  who 
sent  us  into  it  ?  Let  me,  then,  present  you  with  a  para- 
phrase of  the  Wish,  as  addressed  to  Him  to  whom  it 
should,  and  to  whom  alone,  with  any  sense  and  pro- 
priety, it  can  be  addressed.     Thus  it  runs  : 

"Lord,  I  have  only  one  reason  why  I  would  wish  to 
live.  Suffer  me  so  to  do,  I  most  humbly  beseech  thee, 
yet  a  little  while,  till  mine  eyes  shall  behold  the  success 
of  my  undertaking  to  overthrow,  by  niy  metaphysics, 
the  faith  which  thy  Son  descended  from  heaven  to  plant, 
and  to  root  out  the  knowledge  and  love  of  thee  from 
the  earth." 

Here  are  no  rhetorical  figures,  no  hyperboles  or  ex- 
aggerations. The  matter  is  even  so.  I  appeal,  in  the 
face  of  the  world,  sir,  to  yourself,  and  to  every  man  who 
can  read,  and  understand  the  writings  of  Mr.  Hume, 
whether  this  be  not,  in  plain,  honest  English,  the  drift 
of  his  philosophy,  asit  is  called,  for  the  propagation  of 
which  alone  he  wished  to  live  ;  and  concerning  which 
you  are  pleased  to  say  coolly,  "  men  will  judge  vari- 

'  Life,  p.  50. 


LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH.  331 

ousiy,  every  one  approving  or  condemning  these  opinions, 
according  as  they  happen  to  coincide  or  disagree  with 
his  ovvn."""  Our  thoughts  are  very  naturally  carried 
back,  upon  this  occasion,  to  the  author  o(  ihe  first  phi- 
losophy, who  likewise  engaged  to  open  the  eyes  of  the 
public.  He  did  so  ;  but  the  only  discovery  they  found 
themselves  able  to  make,  was — that  they  were  naked. 

You  talk  much,  sir,  of  our  philosopher's  gentleness  of 
manners,  good  nature,  compassion,  generosity,  charity. 
Alas,  sir !  whither  were  they  all  fled,  when  he  so  often 
sat  down  calmly  and  deliberately  to  obliterate  from  the 
hearts  of  the  human  species  every  trace  of  the  know- 
ledge of  God  and  his  dispensations  ;  all  faith  in  his  kind 
providence  and  fatherly  protection  ;  all  hope  of  enjoy- 
ing his  grace  and  favor,  here  or  hereafter  ;  all  love  of 
him,  and  of  their  brethren,  for  His  sake;  all  the  patience 
under  tribulation,  all  the  comforts  in  time  of  sorrow, 
derived  from  these  fruitful  sources  ?  Did  a  good  man 
think  himself  able,  by  the  force  of  metaphysic  incanta- 
tion, in  a  moment  to  blot  the  sun  out  of  heaven,  and 
dry  up  every  fountain  upon  earth, — would  he  attempt  to 
do  it?  TuLLY  had  but  a  faint  glimpse  of  the  country 
to  which  we  are  all  travelling;  yet  so  pleasing  was  any 
the  most  imperfect  and  shadowy  prospect  into  futurity 
that  TuLLY  declared  no  man  should  ravish  it  from  him.» 
And  surely  Tully  was  a  philosopher  as  well  as  Hume! 
Oh,  had  he  seen  the  light  which  shone  upon  Hume,  he 
would  not  have  closed  his  eyes  against  it !  Had  the 
same  cup  been  offered  to  him,  he  would  not  have 
dashed  it  untasted  from  him  ! 

"  Perhaps  our  modern  skeptics  are  ignorant,  that 
without  the  belief  of  a  God,  and  the  hope  of  immortality, 
the  miseries  of  human  life  would  often  be  insupportable. 
But  can  I  suppose  them  in  a  state  of  total  and  invinci- 
ble stupi(]ity,  utter  strangers  to  the  liunian  heart  and  to 
human  aiiairs  ?  Sure  they  would  not  ihaniv  me  for  !»uch 
a  supposition  !     Yet  this  I  must  suppose,  or  I  must  be- 


">  Ibid.,  p.  5f). 

"  '"Cluud  si  ill  hoc  erro,  quod  animos  hominnm  immortales  esse  cre- 
tlam,  liiKMiter  erro ;  ncc  milii  hune  erroroin,  quo  (lelector,  dum  vivo, 
extorqueri  vo!o." — [If  I  err  in  believing  the  souls  of  men  to  be  immor- 
tal, I  err  vvilhii;^ly  ;  nov  will  I  be  robbed  of  this  pleasing  error  while  T 
live.] — De  Senectxite,  ad  fin. 

Vol.  v.— 29 


332  LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH. 

lieve  them  to  be  the  most  perfidious  and  the  most  pro- 
fligate of  men.  Caressed  by  those  who  call  themselves 
the  great,  engrossed  by  the  formalities  of  life,  intoxi- 
cated with  vanity,  pampered  with  adulation,  dissipated 
in  the  tumult  of  business,  or  amidst  the  vicissitudes  of 
folly,  they  perhaps  have  little  need  and  little  relish  for 
the  consolations  of  religion.  But  let  them  know  that, 
in  the  solitary  scenes  of  life,  there  is  many  an  honest 
and  tender  heart  pining  with  incurable  anguish,  pierced 
with  the  sharpest  sting  of  disappointment,  bereft  of 
friends,  chilled  with  poverty,  racked  Avith  disease, 
scourged  by  the  oppressor,  whom  nothing  but  trust  in 
Providence,  and  the  hope  of  a  future  retribution,  could 
preserve  from  the  agonies  of  despair.  And  dothey  with 
sacrilegious  hands  attempt  to  violate  this  last  refuge  of 
the  miserable,  and  to  rob  them  of  the  only  comfort  that 
had  survived  the  ravages  of  misfortune,  malice,  and 
tyranny  ?  Did  it  ever  happen,  that  the  influence  of  their 
execrable  tenets  disturbed  the  tranquiUity  of  virtuous 
retirement,  deepened  the  gloom  of  human  distress,  or 
aggravated  the  horrors  of  the  grave?  Is  it  possible 
that  this  may  have  happened  in  many  instances  ?  Is  it 
probable  that  this  hath  happened  in  one  single  instance  f 
Ye  traitors  to  human  kind  !  ye  murderers  of  the  human 
soul !  how  can  ye  answer  for  it  to  your  own  hearts  ? 
Surely,  every  spark  of  your  generosity  is  extinguished 
for  ever,  if  this  consideration  do  not  awaken  in  you  the 
keenest  remorse,  and  make  you  wish  in  bitterness  of 
goul — But  I  remonstrate  in  vain.  All  this  must  have 
often  occurred  to  you,  and  as  often  been  rejected  as 
utterly  frivolous.  Could  I  enforce  the  present  topic  by 
an  appeal  to  your  vanity,  I  might  possibly  make  some 
impression.  But  to  plead  with  you  on  the  principles 
of  BENEVOLENCE  or  GENEROSITY,  is  to  addrcss  you  in  a 
language  ye  do  not,  or  will  not,  understand ;  and  as  to 
the  shame  of  being  convicted  of  absurdity,  ignorance, 
or  want  of  candor,  ye  have  long  ago  proved  yourselves 
superior  to  the  sense  of  it.  But  let  not  the  lovers  of 
truth  be  discouraged.  Atheism  cannot  be  of  long  con- 
tinuance, nor  is  there  much  danger  of  its  becoming  uni- 
versal. The  influence  of  some  conspicuous  characters 
hath  brought  it  too  much  into  fashion,  which,  in  a 
thoughtless  and  profligate  age,  it  is  no  difficult  matter  to 


LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH.  333 

accomplish.  But  when  men  have  retrieved  the  powers 
of  serious  reliection,  they  will  find  it  a  frightful  phan- 
tom ;  and  the  mind  will  return  gladly  and  eagerly  to  its 
old  endearments.  One  thing  we  certainly  know — the 
fashion  of  skeptical  and  metaphysical  systems  passeth 
away.  Those  unnatural  productions,  the  vile  effusions 
of  a  hard  and  stupid  heart,  that  mistakes  its  own  rest- 
lessness for  the  activity  of  genius,  and  its  own  captious- 
ness  for  sagacity  of  understanding,  may,  like  other 
monsters,  please  awhile  by  their  singularity ;  but  the 
charm  is  soon  over;  and  the  succeeding  age  will  be  as- 
tonished to  hear  that  their  forefathers  were  deluded,  or 
amused,  with  such  fooleries." 

You,  sir,  have  read  the  preceding  paragraph  °  before ; 
but  this  letter  may  come  into  the  hands  of  many  who 
have  not.  It  is  the  alarum  bell  to  the  admirers  of  Mr. 
Hume  ;  and  should  be  rung  in  their  ears  till  succeeded 
by  the  last  trumpet. 

And  now,  sir,  will  you  give  me  leave  to  ask  you  a  few 
questions  ?  Why  all  this  hurry  and  bustle  ;  this  eager- 
ness to  gratify  the  pretended  "impatience  of  the  public,"? 
and  satisfy  it  that  our  philosopher  lived  and  died  per- 
fectly composed  and  easy  ?  Was  there,  then,  any  sus- 
picion in  Scotland,  that  he  might  not,  at  times,  be  quite 
so  composed  and  easy  as  he  should  have  been?  Was 
there  any  particular  book  i  written  against  him,  that 
shook  his  system  to  pieces  about  his  ears,  and  reduced 


°  [It  is  extracted  from  the  Essay  on  Truth,  Part  III.  chap.  iii. 
(p.  343  s.  eighth  ed.,  Edinb.,  1807.) 

James  Beattie,  the  author  of  this  work,  was  Professor  of  Moral 
Philosophy  and  Logic  in  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen,  from  the  year 
1760,  until  his  death,  in  1799.  He  is  well  known  as  the  author  of 
several  works  on  moral  and  mental  philosophy,  and  of  a  deservedly 
popular  summary  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity ;  but  still  better,  as 
the  writer  of  The  Minstrel,  one  of  the  most  pleasing  and  universally 
popular  poems  in  the  English  language. 

The  Essay  on  Truth  lirst  appeared  in  May,  1770.  It  met  with  a 
very  rapid  sale,  and  drew  forth  expressions  of  the  warmest  approbation 
from  almost  every  individual  of  note  whose  approbation  was  to  be  de- 
sired, at  the  same  time  that  its  manly  warmth  and  fearlessness  of  repre- 
hension excited  bitter  indignation  in  Hume  and  his  admirers.] 

1'  Preface  to  Life,  &c. 

°-  [In  this  and  the  following  sentence,  Horne  again  alludes  to  the 
irritation /e/f  and  expressed  by  Hume,  on  the  publication  of  Dr.  Beat- 
tie's  Essay.] 


334  LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH. 

it  to  a  heap  of  ruins,  the  success  and  eclat  of  which  might 
he  supposed  to  have  hurt  his  mind,  and  to  have  affected 
his  health?  Was  there  any  author,  whose  name  his 
friends  never  dared  to  mention  before  him,  and  warned 
all  strangers  that  were  introduced  to  him  against  doing 
it,  because  he  never  failed,  Avhen  by  any  accident  it  was 
done,  to  fly  out  into  a  transport  of  passion  and  swear- 
ing ?r  Was  it  deemed  necessary  or  expedient,  on  this 
account,  that  he  should  represent  himself,  and  that  you 
should  represent  him,  to  have  been  perfectly  secure  of 
the  grow^th  and  increase  of  his  philosophic  reputation, 
as  if  no  book  had  been  written,  which  had  impaired  it ;  it 
having  been  judged  much  easier  to  dissemble  the  fall 
of  Dagon,  than  to  set  him  upon  his  stumps  again  ?  I 
am  a  South  Briton,  and  consequently  not  acquainted 
with  what  passes  so  far  in  the  opposite  quarter.  You, 
sir,  can  inform  us  how  these  things  are  ;  and  likewise, 
when  the  great  work  oi  benevolence  and  charity,  wisdom 
and  virtue,  shall  be  crowned  by  the  publication  of  a 
treatise  designed  to  prove  the  soul's  mortality,  and 
another  to  justify  and  recommend  self-murder  ; '  for 
which,  without  doubt,  the  present  and  future  age  will 
bless  the  name  of  the  gentle  and  amiable  author! 

Upon  the  whole,  Doctor,  your  meaning  is  good  ;  but 
I  think  you  will  not  succeed  this  time.  You.  would 
persuade  us,  by  the  example  of  David  Hume,  Esq.,  that 
atheism  is  the  only  cordial  for  low  spirits,  and  the 
proper  antidote  against  the  fear  of  death.  But  surely 
he  Avho  can  reflect,  with  complacency,  on  a  friend  thus 
misemploying  his  talents  in  his  life,  and  then  amusing 


'  '•!  was  a  man  of  mild  disposition,  of  command  of  temper,  little  sus- 
ceptible of  enmity,  and  of  great  moderation  in  all  my  passions :  even 
my  love  of  literary  fame,  my  rulino;  passion,  never  soured  my  temper." 
Life,  p.  32.  Yet,  even  by  what  is  said  of  the  Reverends  and  Right 
Reverends — Bishop  Warburton,  Bishop  Hurd,  "the  Zealots,''  (that 
is  the  Christians)  and  of  the  resolution  once  taken  to  "change  his 
name  and  to  settle  in  France,"  because  his  writings  did  not  meet  with 
sufficient  encouragement — by  these  circumstances,  1  say,  there  seems 
to  have  been  something  of  the  irritable  in.his  constitution.  But  these 
are  trifles.  My  quarry  lies  not  this  way  at  present.  The  atrocious 
wickedness  of  diliusing  atheism  through  the  land,  is  a  subject  which 
concerns  every  body. 

*  [Hl:mk's  Essays  on  Suicide  and  the  Immortality  of  the  Sovl, 
published  in  1783,  six  years  after  the  first  appearance  of  the  Letter.] 


LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH.  335 

himself  with  "  Lucian,"  "  whist,"  and  "Charon,"  at 
his  death,  may  smile  over  Babylon  in  ruins  ;  esteem 
the  earthquake  which  destroyed  Lisbon,  an  agreeable 
occurrence  ;  and  congratulate  the  hardened  Pharaoh  on 
his  overthrow  in  the  Red  Sea.  Drollery  in  such  cases, 
is  neither  more  or  less  than— 

Moody  madness,  laughing  wild 
Amidst  severest  wo. 

Would  we  know  the  baneful  and  pestilential  influences 
of  false  philosophy  on  the  human  heart  ?  We  need  only 
contemplate  them  in  this  most  deplorable  instance  of 
Mr.  Hume. 

These  sayings,  sir,  may  appear  harsh ;  but  they  are 
salutary.  And  if  departed  spirits  have  any  knowledge 
of  what  is  passing  upon  earth,  that  person  will  be  most 
regarded  by  your  friend  as  rendering  him  the  truest 
services,  who,  by  energy  of  expression,  and  warmth  of 
exhortation,  shall  most  contribute  to  prevent  his  writings 
from  producing  those  effects  upon  mankind,  which  he 
no  longer  wishes  they  should  produce.  Let  no  man 
deceive  himself,  or  be  deceived  by  others.  It  is  the 
voice  of  ETERNAL  TRUTH,  which  cricth  aloud,  and  saith 
to  you,  sir,  and  to  me,  and  to  all  the  world — He  that 
believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life :  and  he  that 
heUeveth  not  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life ;  hut  the  wrath 
of  God  abideth  on  hiin.^ 

By  way  of  contrast  to  the  behavior  of  Mr.  Hume, 
at  the  close  of  a  life  passed  "  without  God  in  the 
world,"  permit  me,  sir,  to  lay  before  yourself,  and  the 
public,  the  last  sentiments  of  the  truly  learned,  judi- 
cious, and  admirable  Hooker,  who  had  spent  his  days 
in  the  service  of  his  Maker  and  Redeemer. 

After  this  manner,  therefore,  spake  the  author  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  Polity,  immediately  before  he  expired  : 

"  I  have  lived  to  see  that  this  world  is  made  up  of 
perturbations  ;  and  I  have  been  long  preparing  to  leave 
it,  and  gathering  comfort  for  the  dreadful  hour  of  mak- 
ing my  account  with  God,  which  I  now  apprehend  to  be 
near.  And  though  I  have,  by  his  grace,  loved  him  in 
my  youth,  and  feared  him  in  mine  age,  and  labored  to- 
have  a  conscience  void  of  offence  towards  him,  and  to- 


John  iii.  36,. 

29* 


33G  LETTER  TO  ADAM  SMITH. 

wanls  all  men  ;  yet  if  thou,  Lord,  shouldest  be  extreme 
to  mark  what  is  done  amiss,  who  can  abide  it?  And 
therefore  where  I  have  failed,  Lord,  show  mercy  to  me  ! 
for  I  plead  not  ray  righteousness,  but  the  forgiveness  of 
my  unrighteousness,  through  His  merits  who  died  to 
purchase  pardon  for  penitent  sinners.  And  since  I  owe 
thee  a  death,  Lord,  let  it  not  be  terrible !  and  then 
take  thine  own  time  ;  I  submit  to  it.  Let  not  mine,  O 
Lord,  but  thy  will  be  done ! — God  hath  heard  my 
daily  petitions  ;  for  I  am  at  peace  with  all  men,  and  He 
is  at  peace  with  me.  From  such  blessed  assurance  I 
feel  that  inward  joy  which  this  world  can  neither  give, 
nor  take  from  me.  My  conscience  beareth  me  this 
witness;  and  this  witness  makes  the  thoughts  of  death 
joyful.  I  could  wish  to  live,  to  do  the  Church  more 
service;  but  cannot  hope  it;  for  my  days  are  past,  as 
a  shadow  that  returns  not." 

His  worthy  biographer  adds  :  "  More  he  would  have 
spoken,  but  his  spirits  failed  him ;  and,  after  a  short 
conflict  between  nature  and  death,  a  quiet  sigh  put  a 
period  to  his  last  breath,  and  so  he  fell  asleep. — And 
now  he  seems  to  rest  like  Lazarus  in  Abraham's  bosom. 
Let  me  here  draw  his  curtain,  till,  with  the  most  glori- 
ous company  of  the  patriarchs  and  apostles,  and  the 
most  noble  army  of  martyrs  and  confessors,  this  most 
learned,  most  humble,  and  most  holy  man  shall  also 
awake  to  receive  an  eternal  tranquillity,  and  with  it  a 
greater  degree  of  glory,  than  common  Christians  shall 
be  made  partakers  of." 

Doctor  Smith,  when  the  hour  of  his  departure  hence 
shall  arrive,  will  copy  the  example  of  the  believer,  or 
the  INFIDEL,  as  it  liketh  him  best.  I  must  freely  own, 
I  have  no  opinion  of  that  reader's  head  or  heart,  who 
will  not  exclaim,  as  I  find  myself  obliged  to  do — 

Let  ME  die  the  death  of  the  righteous^  and  let  mv 
last  end  be  like  his  ! 

T  am,  Sir,  your  very  sincere  Well-wisher,  and 

Humble  Servant, 
One  of  the  people  called  Christians. 


POSTSCRIPT. 


As  it  is  possible,  sir,  nay,  probable,  that  this  little 
tract,  because  it  is  a  little  one,  may  be  perused  by  many 
who  have  not  leisure  or  inclination  to  go  through  large 
volumes,  and  yet  wish  to  know  what  Mr.  Hume's  phi- 
losophical system  is ;  I  shall  here  subjoin  a  short  but 
comprehensive  summary  of  the  doctrines  which  com- 
pose it,  drawn  up,  some  few  years  ago,  by  a  learned 
gentleman,  for  his  amusement,  with  proper  references 
to  those  parts  of  our  philosopher's  works  where  such 
doctrines  were  to  be  found.  And  though  I  never  heard 
that  the  compiler  had  the  thanks  of  Mr.  Hume  for  so 
doing,  yet  neither  could  I  ever  find  that  he  or  his 
friends  disputed  the  fidelity  and  accuracy  with  which  it 
was  done." 


A  SUMMARY  OF  MR.  HUME  S    DOCTRINES,   METAPHYSICAL 
AND  MORAL. 

Of  the  Soul. 

That  the  soul  of  man  is  not  the  same  this  moment 
that  if  was  the  last ; — that  we  know  not  what  it  is  ; — 
that  it  is  not  one,  but  many  things ; — and  that  it  is 
nothing  at  all. 

That  in  this  soul  is  the  agency  of  all  the  causes  that 
operate  throughout  the  sensible  creation  ;  and  yet  that 
in  this  soul  there  is  neither  power  nor  agency,  nor  any 
idea  of  either. 

That  matter  and  motion  may  often  be  regarded  as 
the  cause  of  thought. 

Of  the  Universe. 

That  the  external  world  does  not  exist ;  or  at  least, 
th?it  its  existence  may  reasonably  be  doubted. 


»  Soe  Dr.  Bkattie's  Essay  on  Truth,  Part  II.  Chap.  I.  Sect.  I.  and 
Part  III.  ch.  ii. 


338  POSTSCRIPT. 

That  the  universe  exists  in  the  mind,  and  that  the 
mind  does  not  exist. 

That  the  universe  is  nothing  but  a  heap  of  percep- 
tions, without  a  substance. 

That  though  a  man  should  bring  himself  to  believe, 
yea,  and  have  reason  to  believe,  that  every  thing  in  the 
universe  proceeds  from  some  cause ;  yet  it  would  be 
unreasonable  for  him  to  believe,  that  the  universe  itself 
proceeds  from  a  cause. 

Of  Hmnan  Knowledge. 

That  the  perfection  of  human  knowledge  is  to  doubt. 

That  we  ought  to  doubt  of  every  thing,  yea,  of  our 
doubts  themselves,  and  therefore  the  utmost  that  philo- 
sophy can  do,  is. to  give  us  a  doubtful  solution  of  doubt- 
ful doubts.^ 

That  the  human  understanding,  acting  alone,  does 
entirely  subvert  itself,  and  prove  by  argument  that  by 
argument  nothing  can  be  proved. 

That  man,  in  all  his  perceptions,  actions,  and  voli- 
tions, is  a  mere  passive  machine,  and  has  no  separate 
existence  of  his  own,  being  entirely  made  up  of  other 
things,  of  the  existence  of  which  he  is  by  no  means 
certain ;  and  yet,  that  the  nature  of  all  things  depends 
so  much  upon  man,  that  two  and  two  could  not  be 
equal  to  four,  nor  fire  produce  heat,  nor  the  sun  light, 
without  an  act  of  the  human  understanding. 

Of  God, 

That  it  is  unreasonable  to  believe  God  to  be  infinitely 
wise  and  good,  while  there  is  any  evil  or  disorder  in  the 
universe. 

That  we  have  no  good  reason  to  think  that  the  uni- 
verse proceeds  from  a  cause. 

That  as  the  existence  of  the  external  world  is  ques- 
tionable, we  are  at  a  loss  to  find  arguments  by  which  we 


'  The  fourth  Section  of  Mr.  Hume's  Essays  on  the  Human  Under- 
standing is  called,  Skeptical  Doubts  concerning  the  operations  of  the 
Human  Understanding ;  and  the  fifth  Section  bears  this  title,  Skep- 
tical Solution  of  those  Doubts. 


POSTSCRIPT.  339 

may  prove  the  existence  of  the  Supreme  Being,  or  any 
of  his  attributes. 

That  when  we  speak  of  power,  as  an  attribute  of  any 
being,  God  himself  not  excepted,  we  use  words  without 
meaning. 

That  we  can  form  no  idea  of  power,  nor  of  any  be- 
ing endued  with  power,  much  less  of  one  endued  with 
infinite  power;  and  that  we  can  never  have  reason  to 
beHeve  that  any  object,  or  quaHty  of  any  object,  exists, 
of  which  we  cannot  form  any  idea.y 

Of  the  Morality  of  Human  Actions. 

That  every  human  action  is  necessary,  and  could 
not  have  been  different  from  what  it  is. 

That  moral,  intellectual,  and  corporeal  virtues  are 
nearly  of  the  same  kind  :  in  other  words,  that  to  want 
honesty,  and  to  want  understanding,  and  to  want  a  leg^ 
are  equally  the  objects  of  moral  disapprobation. 

That  adultery  must  be  practised,  if  man  would  obtain 
all  the  advantages  of  life  ;  that,  if  generally  practised,  it 
would  in  time  cease  to  be  scandalous  ;  and  that  if  prac- 
tised secretly  and  frequently,  it  would  by  degrees  come 
to  be  thought  no  crime  at  all. 

Lastly,  as  the  soul  of  man,  according  to  Mr.  Hume, 
becomes  every  moment  a  different  being,  the  conse- 
quence must  he,  that  the  crimes  committed  by  him,  at 
one  time,  cannot  be  imputable  to  him  at  another. "^ 


I  BELIEVE,  Dr.  Smith,  the  reader  is  now  fully  pre- 
pared to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  your  concluding  sen- 
tence, which  shall  therefore  be  mine. 


y  Tlie  poor  prodigal  Gentile,  in  the  parable,  was  hardly  reduced  to 
feed  upon  such  husks  as  these.  How  (rood,  and  how  joyful  a  thing  it 
must  be,  for  one  that  has  been  so  reduced,  to  return  to  the  house  of  his 
heavenly  Father,  where  there  is  bread  enough,  and  to  spare — to  knoio 
the  onhj true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  vhom  he  hath  sent! 

*  'Ll/y  Inqviry  concerning  the  Principles  of  Morals  is,  of  all 
writings,  histol•ii^'^l,  philosopliical,  or  Uterary,  incoinparably  the  best" — 
Hume,  in  his  own  Life,  p.  1(>. 


340  POSTSCRIPT. 

"  1  have  always  considered  Mr.  Hume,  both  in  his 
lifetime  and  since  his  death,  as  approaching;  as  nearly 
to  the  idea  of  a  wise  and  virtuous  man,  as  perhaps 
the  nature  of  human  frailty  will  permit ! ! " 


THE  END. 


INDEX 


Abraham,  covenant  wkli,  289. 

Acts  of  the  Apostles,  194 — authenticity 
of  the  book,  142  ss. 

Allegorical  interpretation  of  the  mira- 
cles of  Christ,  41  ss. 

Alogi,  174. 

Andrews,  Bishop,  214. 

Antinornians,  175. 

Apology  for  the  Life,  &.C.,  of  Hume, 
225  ss.  233. 

Apostles,  authentic  writings  of,  177 — 
commissioned  to  make  a  full  revela- 
tion of  Christianity,  142  ss.  185  ss 
— conversions  by  their  preaching, 
147 — doctrine  oi]  150  ss.  designed 
for  a  standing  rule  of  faith  and  duty, 
184  ss — inspiration  of,  145,  186  s — 
office  and  qualifications  of,  131  s 
— their  use  of  the  prophecies  in 
preaching  Christ,  28  ss. 

Aristotle,  quoted,  83. 

Ark  of  Noah,  287. 

Assemblies  for  public  worship,  53  ss. 

Atmosphere,  2S0. 

B. 

Balaam,  history  of,  297  s. 
Beattie.  Dr.  James,  333  n. 
Belief  in  the  Gospel  a  duty,  121  s. 
Boyl^s  Letter  to  Stubbe,  276. 
Brutus'  suicide,  267. 
Burnet,  Dr.  Thomas,  194. 
Butler's  Analogy,  25  n.  94  n. 


Cains,  his  doubts  concerning  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Hebrews,  161. 

Camden's  Britannia,  8. 

Canaan,  conquest  of,  299  ss. 

Canon  of  Scripture,  how  established, 
192. 

Catholic  Epistles,  164  ss.   . 

Cato's  suicide,  267. 

Cerinthus,  172. 

Champollion,  MM.,  275  n. 

Chandler's  Life  of  David,  306. 

Chapone,  Mrs.,  quoted,  268. 

Cherubim,  212  n.  283  s. 


Christ,  baptism  of,  316  s—bore  our 
sins,  106 — died  for  us,  106 — design 
of  his  personal  ministry,  139 — ex- 
ample of,  116 — genealogies  of,  314 
ss — imparts  life  eternal,  110 — our 
Mediator,  Intercessor,  and  Advo- 
cate, 109  s — a  j)ropitiation  for  our 
sins,  107 — predictions  of,  concerning 
future  events,  44  ss.  47  n — reality 
of  his  history,  131 — reconciles  us  to 
God,  108 — redeems  or  ransoms  us, 
107 — resurrection  of,  321  s — sancti- 
fies us  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  108  s — 
takes  away  our  sins,  106  s — teach- 
ing of,  93,  140,  151,  did  not  fully 
reveal  the  Gospel,  139  ss. 

Christianity,  defences  of,  1 7 — demands 
of,  58 — distinct  from  so-called  Natu- 
ral Religion,  23  n — effects  of,  86  ss. 
236— evidences  of,  26,  48,  124,  27^ 
— facts  of,  how  proven,  32  s — con- 
sequences from,  33  s — iundamental 
principles  of,  maintained  by  all 
sects,  77 — grounds  of  opposition  to, 
20 — imparts  the  only  true  spiritual 
knowledge,  102 — objections  to,  95  s 
— taught  gradually,  193  s — to  be 
learned  from  the  Epistles,  196 — 
tends  to  render  this  life  happy, 
100  s. 

Christians,  manners  of,  235  s — profes- 
sionof,  il6. 

Chubb,  the  Deist,  299. 

Churches,  reverence  due  them,  53. 

Cicero,  quoted,  71,  74,  76,  83,  91. 

Clement,  of  Alexandria,  quoted,  159, 
189,  191— of  Rome,  quoted,  135, 
188. 

Clergymen,  ungodly  or  immoral,  how 
to  be  treated,  58. 

Collins,  5,  16  n. 

Controversies,  effect  of,  in  the  prescr- 
valion  of  the  New  Testament,  177  s. 

Convocation,  controversy  concern- 
ing, 9. 

Conybeare,  quoted,  212  n. 

Corruption  of  man,  causes  of,  69. 

Corruptions  in  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  impossible,  177. 


342 


INDEX. 


Creation,  243  ss — unknown  to  the  an- 
cient philosophers,  69 — Mosaic  ac- 
count of,  27S  ss. 


Darkness,  279. 

David,  history  of,  305  ss. 

Death,  infliction  of,  on  Adam,  2S1. 

Deluge,  universal,  285  ss. 

Dialogue  on  Skepticism,  239  ss. 

Dialogues  on  Natural  Religion, 
Hume's,  241. 

Difficulties  in  the  Scriptures,  271  ss. 

Dionysius,  of  Alexandria,  170. 

Divine  nature  taught  by  the  Gospel, 
1 02 — example,  a  foundation  of  Gos- 
pel morality,  116. 

Divinity  of  the  Church  of  England 
after  the  restoration,  111  ss. 

Doctrines  of  the  Apostles,  the  standing 
rule  of  Christianity,  184  ss— of  the 
Gospel,  proved  by  its  facts,  48,  more 
fully  taught  in  the  Epistles,  198  s — 
of  Heathenism,  84. 

Drumraond,  Sir  William,  131  n.  275  n. 

Drummondi  Polemo-Middiana,  7  n. 


Ebionites,  174. 

Ellis'  Knowledge  of  Divine  Things 
from  Revelation,  22  n. 

Endor,  Witch  of,  302  ss. 

Epicureans,  opinions  of,  71,  74. 

Epistle  of  James,  165  ss — of  John, 
Second,  169,  Third,  169— of  Jude, 
168  s — of  Peter,  Second,  166  ss. 

Episdes,  authenticity  of,  153  ss — Ca- 
tholic, 164 — design  of,  197  s — occa- 
sions of,  201— of  Paul,  175  n.  196  s. 

Error,  speculative,  dangerous,  231. 

Esau,  his  crime,  290. 

Essays  on  Suicide,  Hume's,  200, 202  s. 
247  ss.  334. 

Evangelists,  qualifications  of,  132  s — 
discrepancies  of,  316,  321  n — not 
impostors,  134  ss. 

Evidences  of  Christianity,  classifica- 
tion of,  26,  48  s.  124 — not  designed 
for  constant  repetition,  97  n — inter- 
nal, 126  s— rules  for  their  study,  18. 
19,  20,  21,  24,  2o,  26,  49,  58. 

Eusebius,  quoted,  133,  143,  160,  166. 


Fable  of  the  Bees,  16. 

Pacts  affording  evidence  to  Christian- 
ity, 32  ss. 

Faith,  distinguished  from  reason,  63 
—modes  of;  230— required  of  Chris- 
tians, 195,  323. 


Pall,  history  of  the,  282. 

Family  devotion,  11. 

Fathers,  their  opinions  concerning  mi- 
racles, 38. 

Pig  tree  cursed,  319. 

Firmament,  280. 

Flood,  the,  285  ss. 

Forgiveness  of  sins  through  Christ, 
107. 

Fundamentals,  195,  200. 

G. 

Genealogies  of  Christ,  314  ss. 

Gibson,  his  character,  14 — his  life,  7 
ss — Code  of  Ecclesiastical  Law,  9 
s — Family  Devotions,  1 1 — Pastoral 
Letters,  design  and  plan  of,  3  ss., 
history  of,  1,  12,  reputation  of,  6. 
Fifth,  13 — Preservative  against  Po- 
pery, 12  s. 

God,  existence  of,  243 — how  spoken 
of  in  Scripture,  278. 

Gospel,  (see  Christianity.)  designed 
ends  of,  100— duties  of,  103 — moral- 
ity of,  its  foundations,  115  ss — per- 
versions of,  111 — propagation  of,  47 
s — scheme,  105  ss. 

Gospels,  the  four,  attestation  to,  by  the 
primitive  Church,  135 — authentic, 
130  ss.  320 — confirmed  by  profane 
history,  137  s.,  by  Josephus,  138 — 
not  a  full  revelation  of  Christianitv, 
138ss— style  of,  135. 

Greatrix,  Valentine,  275  s. 

H. 

Heathen,  abominations  of,  39  ss — dif- 
ferences among,  on  religion,  73  ss, 
78 — expectation  of  a  Messiah  by,  27 
n — state  of,  at  Christ's  coming,  81 
s — worship  of,  83  s.  • 

Hebrews,  Epistle  to  the,  author  of,  153 
ss— doubts  concerning,  162  s — tes- 
timony of  the  fathers  concerning, 
159  ss. 

Hickes,  7,  214. 

Historical  proof,  nature  of,  99  s. 

Holiness  the  fruit  of  faith,  112  n. 

HoLV  Spirit,  gilts  of,  146 — promise 
of,  143  s. 

Hooker,  his  dying  hours,  335. 

Home,  his  birth,  208,  education,  209, 
college  friends,  209,  studies,  210  ss., 
election  to  a  fellowship,  209,  promo^ 
tion,  210,  ordniation,  214,  preach- 
ing, 215,  principles,  215,  character 
of'his  life,  206  s.,  death,  222— his 
controversy  with  Kennicott,  217, 
with  Priestley,  220 — liis  Apology 


INDEX. 


343 


ifor  the  Hutchinsonians,  216 — Com- 
mentary on  the  Psahns,  212  7i,  218 
— Considerations  on  John  the  Bap- 
tist, 218— Letter  to  Dr.  Smith,  199 
— Life  of,  by  Jones,  207  s. 

House  of  God,  reverence  due  \fi  it, 
53. 

Hume,  199— his  morals,  233,  328, 
331,  334,  opinions,  328,  writings, 
327,  dying  thoughts,  330,  system  of 
philosophy,  337  ss — passionate,  232 
— Apology  for  his  Life,  225 — Natu- 
ral History  of  Religion,  228 — Es- 
says on  Suicide,  200,  202  s,  247  ss, 
.  334 — Dialogues  on  Natural  Reli- 
gion, 241. 

Hurd,  Bishop,  228.' 

Hutchinson,  John,  210  n. 

Hutchinsonians,  opinions  of,  210  w, 
279  n— Apology  for,  216. 


Immortality  of  the  soul,  unknown  to 
Heathen  philosophers,  71. 

Indifterence  to  the  claims  of  revelation 
criminal,  58  s,  93  ss,  231. 

Inductive  philosophy  abused,  6. 

Infidelity,  guilt  of,  119  ss — injurious 
to  civil  government,  123 — practical 
effects  of,  233  ss — zeal  to  promote 
it,  123,  231,  331  ss. 

Infidels,  doubts  of,  201,  263  ss — objec- 
tions of,  4,  204  s,  not  new,  271 — va- 
rious attacks  of,  16,  272 — lives  of^ 
19  s. 

Innocents,  massacre  of,  317. 

Inquiry  concerning  revelation,  a  dvity, 
93  ss,  120. 

IrensBus,  quoted,  133,  136,  143,  170  s, 
188  s,  190. 

Isaiah,  his  prophecy  concerning  Cy- 
rus, 312. 


Jacob,  his  conduct  to  Esau,  290,  to 

Isaac,  290  s. 
James,  Epistle  of,  165  ss. 
Jasher,  Book  of,  307  s. 
Jerome,  quoted,  162,  166,  167. 
Jerusalem,  destruction  of,  44  ss. 
Jews,  overthrow  of  the  nation,  46. 
John,  author  of  Revelations,  170  ss — 

Second  and  Third  Epistles  of,  169. 
Jones,  of  Nayland,  206  n — quoted,  204 

s,  280  n. 
Jude,  Epistle  of,  168  e. 
Julian  the  Apostate,  quoted,  137. 
Justification  through  Christ,  108. 
Justin  Martyr,  quoted,  55,  136,  171. 

Vol.  v.— 30 


K. 

Kennicott's  collation  of  the  Hebrew 

text,  217. 
Knowledge,  human,  limits  of,  25  s — 

nature  of,  244. 

L. 

Lactantius  quoted,  73,  75,  78. 
Lardner's  Credibility,"  &c.,  320. 
Law,  William,  his  opinions,  214  n. 
Le  Clerc,  quoted,  163,  308  n. 
Leslie's  Works,  214  n. 
Letter  to  Dr.  Smith,  Home's,  224. 
Letters  on  Infidelity,  Home's,  200  ss. 
Light,  creation  of,  278. 
Limborch,  quoted,  164. 
Livy,  History  of,  275. 
Locke,  5,  195— quoted,  62  s,  99,  196. 
Lord's  day,  how  to  be  kept,  52. 
Lucian,  329. 

Luke,  qualifications  of,  as  an  evange- 
list, 132  ss. 

M. 

Macknight,  quoted,  319. 

Macrobius,  quoted,  317. 

Magicians,  Egyptian,  294  s. 

Mandeville,  16  n. 

Manichees,  174. 

Mark,  qualifications  of,  as  an  evange- 
list, 132  ss. 

Masquerades,  10. 

Means  to  be  diligently  used,  19,  56 — 
of  grace,  103  s. 

Mediator,  a  term  peculiar  to  St.  Paul, 
156. 

Mediatorial  character  of  Christ. 
109  s. 

Messiah,  belief  in,  192  ss — general  ex- 
pectation of,  27  ss,  33  ss — prophe- 
cies concerning,  28  ss. 

Middleton,  Conyers,  282  n. 

Millennium,  doctrine  of,  173  s. 

Ministers,  unworthy,  how  to  be  treat- 
ed, 58. 

Ministry,  reverence  due  to,  57  ss. 

Miracles,  evidence  from,  34  ss,  273  ss 
— of  Christ,  reality  of,  37  ss — of 
Paul,  149— of  Moses,  276— of  the 
Apostles,  146  s. 

Moral  duties  taught  in  the  Epistles, 
200  s. 

Morality  of  the  Gospel,  a  fruit  of  faith, 
112  72,  114,  peculiar,  115  ss— of  the 
Heathen,  defective,  80  ss,  85 — of 
later  Heathens,  derived  from  Chris- 
tianity, 67  s. 

Moses,  author  of  the  Pentateuch,  277 


344 


INDEX. 


Name  of  God,  reverence  due  to  it, 
51  s. 

Natural  religion,  22  s,  114,  211  n. 

Newcome's  Harmony,  321  n. 

New  Testament,  authenticity  of,  127 
s — faithfully  transmitted,  176  ss — 
fixed  and  perpetual  rule  for  Chris- 
tians, 191. 

Newtonian  philosophy,  attacked  by 
Home,  213 — compared  with  Hutch- 
insonianism,  214. 

Nicolson.  7. 

Numbering  of  Israel,  by  David, 3  OS 


Oaths,  123. 

Old  Testament,  duty  of  Christians  to 
study  it,  202. 

Origen,  his  opinions  concerning  mira- 
cles, 33  ss— quoted,  136,  159,  189. 


Pascal,  quoted,  316. 

Paschal  lamb,  27. 

Paul,  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, 153  ss — commission  and 
doctrine  of,  148  s — epistles  of,  fool- 
ishly dreaded,  175  n,  Locke's  opi- 
nion of,  196 — peculiarities  of  his 
st5ne,  156,  159. 

Peter,  Second  Epistle  of,  166  ss. 

Pharaoh,  his  hardening,  293. 

Piiilosophy,  differences  in,  73  ss — fatal 
effects  of,  72,  78  ss— limits  of,  66  ss 
— ineffectual  for  reformation,  80  s — 
of  the  Heathen,  22  ss,  65  ss,  causes 
of  its  iiiefhcacy,  82  s, 

Photius,  quoted,  161. 

Plato,  quoted,  71,  92. 

Pliny,  his  account  of  the  worship  of 
the  Christians,  55. 

Polycarp.  quoted,  183. 

Pope,  on  modes  of  faith,  230. 

Porteus,  Bishop,  269  n. 

Power,  use  of  the  term,  36  n. 

Practice,  why  not  more  affected  by  in- 
fidel principles,  234  s. 

Preaching  of  the  Gospel,  effects  of,  87 
B — of  the  apostles,  167. 

Pride,  a  cause  of  infidelity,  20. 

Priestley,  220,  280. 

Prophecies,  27  ss,  31  n — clearness  of, 

312  s — Tjf  Chuist,  44  ss,  47  n. 
Providence,  251  s. 

PiialuH,  Home's  Commentary  on,  212 
n,  218. 


a. 

Qucsnel,  Pere,"313. 
Quintilian,  quoted,  S3. 


Rainbov/,  employment  of,  in  the  cove- 
nant with  Noah,  283. 

Randolph's  Enchiridion,  6. 

Reason,  distinguished  from  faith,  63 — 
how  to  be  examined,  64  ss — an  in- 
sufficient guide,  21  ss,  64  ss — needs 
sanction  of  revelation,  92  s — use  of, 
with  regard  to  rfevelation,  62  ss, 
324. 

Redemption,  how  made  known  in  the 
Gospel,  105 — unknown  to  the  an- 
cient philosophers,  69. 

Relative  duties,  how  taught  in  the 
Gospel,  115  s. 

Religion,  causes  of  enmity  to,  20 — in- 
jured b}^  inconsistent  professors,  236 
— its  most  important  points  un- 
known to  Heathen  philosophers,  71 
ss— natural,  22  s,  114,  211  n — not 
to  be  set  in  opposition  to  morality, 
65  s — positive  institutions  of,  113 — 
rules  for  inquiry  concerning,  18,  19, 

20,  21,  24,  25,  2'6,  49,  58. 
Resurrection,    of  Christ,    differing 

accounts  of,  321 — of  the  body,  un- 
known to  Heathen  philosophers,  72. 

Revelation,  changes  in,  94  s — circum- 
stances of,  95  s — demands  careful 
scrutiny,  58  s,  93  ss,  120 — made  but 
once,  07 — need  of,  60  s,  89  ss — not 
to  be  judged  by  our  views  of  expe- 
dience, 25  ss — possibility  of,  94 — 
relation  of,  to  reason,  63 — subjects 
peculiar  to  it,  22,  66  s — the  only 
clear  rule  of  dut}^,  76 — to  be  receiv- 
ed whole  and  entire,  98  ss. 

Revelations,  Book  of,  its  authenticity, 
170ss— Its  value,  313  s. 

Reverence  for  things  sacred,  50. 

Ridicule,  employment  of,  by  infidels. 

21,  43  s— how  used  by  Home,  203 
— use  of,  in  defence  of  religion,  223. 

Rose's  Christianity  always  Progress- 
ive, 87  n. 
Rousseau,  quoted,  256. 

s. 

Salvation,  plan  of,  105  ss. 
Sanctification    through   the  Spirit, 

109. 
Satan,  308  s. 

Satisfaction  of  Christ,  106. 
Saul,  accounts  of  his  death,  306. 


INDEX. 


345 


Scotland,  Episcopal  Churcli  in,  220 
ss. 

Scriptures,  difficulties  in,  271  ss — how 
treated  by  infidels,  128 — reception 
of,  bj?^  the  first  Christians,  190 — re- 
gard for,  no  injury  to  philosophy, 
66 — reverence  due  to  ihcm,  50  s — 
testimony  of  the  early  fathers  to 
their  inspiration,  188  ss — tlieir  na- 
ture, 51. 

Sects,  among  Christians,  no  objection 
to  the  Gospel,  17 — have  tended  to 
preserve  the  New  Testament  uncor- 
rupt,  178  n. 

Serpent,  the,  282. 

Sherlock,  167  n. 

Shuckford,  criticised  by  Home,  215  «. 

Sincerity,  tests  of,  122. 

Skepticism,  24  s,  99  s — Dialogue  on, 
239  ss. 

Smith,  Dr.  Adam,  199  ss,  327. 

Socrates,  felt  the  need  of  revelation, 
91  s. 

Suicide,  causes  of,  253 — criminality 
of,  249  ss — Hume's  Essays  on,  200, 
202  s,  247  ss,  327. 

Sunday  evening  meetings,  270  n. 

Sunday  Schools,  advocated  by  Home, 
219. 

Superstition,  247  s — falsely  charged, 
119. 

T. 

Tacitus,  quoted,  137. 

Taylor's  History  of  the  Transmission 

of  Ancient  Books,  33,  176. 
Temple,  destruction  of,  45  s. 
Tenison,  Archbishop,  8. 
TertuUian,  quoted,  133,  137,  177,  191. 
Texts  explained  or  illustrated  : — 
Genesis  i.  2—279. 

"    iii.  24— 283  s., 
Exodus  iii.  22—296. 
"     vii.  24—295. 
"     xi.  2—296. 
"    xii.  35—296. 
'"     XXX.  12—310. 
Numbers  xxii. — 297  ss. 
Judges  i.  19— 300  s. 

"     xi.  24—302. 
2  Samuel  xii.  29—305. 

"    xxiv.— 308  s. 
Paalm  civ.  2—280. 
Matthew  xi.  14—320. 
"    xxi.  19  ss— 319. 


Matthew  xxiv. — 45  ss. 
Luke  xviii.  34 — 141. 
John  i.  21  ss— 320. 

"    iii.  36—122. 

"     vii.  17—19. 

"    xii.  24—320. 

"     xiv.  29 — 47. 
Acts  i.  8—36. 

"    xiv.  16  s— 96. 
Romans  ii.  4 — 158. 

"     ix.  9—294. 
1  Corinthians  ii.  7  to  17—92  m. 
1  Thessalonians  iv.  16— 3lS. 
Hebrews  ii.  3— 15S. 

1  Peter  ii.  2—193. 

■'    iii.  15—63. 

2  Peter  i.  14—168. 

"    iii.  15,  16—157. 
Theodoret,  quoted,  161. 
Theophilus,  of  Antioch,  quoted,  188. 
Tillotson,  quoted,  113. 
Tindal,  3,  5,  17  ?z,  298. 
Toland,  5,  16  w. 
Tomline,  quoted,  167  n. 
Tree  of  Life,  283  s. 
Types,  26  s,  31  n. 

u. 

Utility,  no  proper  principle  of  morals, 
231. 


Various  readings  of  the  New  Testa 

ment,  178  ss. 
Volney,  131  n. 
Voltaire,  204  s,  292,  302. 

w. 

Wake,  Archbishop,  10. 

Warton's  poem.  The  Suicide,  268. 

Watson,  Mr.,  212. 

West,  on  the  Resurrection,  321  n. 

Whitehall  preachers,  IF. 

Wilkins,  quoted,  100,  1 14. 

Witch  of  Endor,  302  ss. 

Woodhouse,  on  the  Apocalypse,  314. 

Woolston,  16  n,  37. 

Word  of  God,  reverence  due  to  it, 
50  s. 

World,  end  of,  how  foretold,  317  s. 

Worship,  of  the  Heathen,  83  s — pub- 
lic, 53  ss,  87,  103,  not  settled  by 
philosophy,  70. 


ERRATA 

Page 

122, 

Note  y, 

read  John  iii.  36. 

" 

201, 

line  10, 

" 

obscure. 

" 

" 

"     18, 

" 

tract /or-  fact 

207, 

"      3, 

[( 

Pinedon. 

209, 

"    22, 

•-' 

Jenkinson 

